Akuma no Tsubasa
by absoluteotaku
Summary: Rukia and a girl named Satsuki Yamane are transferred to Ichigo's class. Rukia soon reveals shocking information about who Satsuki is and that a new enemy with unknown intentions has appeared before Soul Society. T just in case. COMPLETED
1. Moving to Karakura

A/N: Hi peoples~ This is my first time writing a fanfic. So if it is bad, please please please don't blame me . I WILL improve.. somehow... This chapter was meant to be the introduction chapter... but it kinda ended up being a teaser XD

Btw... as much as i would like to, i dont own bleach ^_^

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Chapter 1 – Moving to Karakura

Satsuki Yamane lowered her hand and gripped it into a fist, "We are moving tomorrow and you're only telling me this now? Just because Ji-chan got a transfer to Karakura doesn't mean I have to go there too! I haven't even gotten a chance to say goodbye to my friends yet! If we move to Karakura, I'll be separated from all of my friends. Fitting into a new high school is hard, especially with this stupid ability I have!" Tears slid down Satsuki's cheeks as she talked, she quickly rubbed her eyes and run upstairs to her room, leaving her Aunt and Uncle, standing in the kitchen feeling lost.

Satsuki slammed the door closed then laid on her bed, looking at the white ceiling. She sighed and looked at the wall opposite her bed as a black-haired girl around 15 strode out of the wall. "Are you really gonna leave tomorrow?" the girl asked.

"Yea… it's going to be lonely without you Ru-chan. You have to stay here and finish your mission, right?" Satsuki replied sadly.

Ru-chan nodded and smiled, "There are a lot of interesting people in Karakura, you'll have fun there, don't worry. I'll go to Karakura as soon as I can."

"Doubt it… You know… I've been hearing rumours of souls disappearing more frequently lately. You should be careful when you're outside. Anyways, I'm tired. See you in the morning." Having said that, Satsuki turned over and tried to sleep. Ru-chan slowly walked back out of the room. Before she left the room, she turned around and said, "Oh, and if you meet an orange-haired guy called Ichigo Kurosaki, tell him I said hi." Satsuki replied with a nod.

...

As Satsuki's parents locked up their apartment, Satsuki watched from inside their black car. She had already said goodbye to all of her friends at school and they had all promised her to keep in touch. Ru-chan was nowhere to be found so she had no choice but to space out in the car. After a while, she sat up as she felt the car moving and realised they were already on the highway. Yawning, she stretched out on the backseat and slept, totally ignoring her Aunt and Uncle.

When Satsuki woke up, they were already at their new house. It was a two story house; much bigger than their apartment back in Kyoto. The roof was red and the walls were white. So plain, Satsuki thought as she stepped out of the car. She didn't want to help out around the house so she decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood.

As Satsuki walked passed the house next door, she felt a familiar sensation in her stomach that immediately made her stop and stare at the house. Weird, I only feel this sensation when there are spiritual beings around, she thought while looking at the sign on the front door. 'Kurosaki Clinic' was the name on the sign.

'Kurosaki'? Where have I heard that name before? Oh yea… Ru-chan told me to greet a 'Kurosaki Ichigo' yesterday. She heard a door open and looked toward her left. Coming out of the side of the house was a tall boy around 15 with bright orange hair and a scowl plastered on his face.

The orange-haired guy looked up and looked at her, "I'm sorry, the clinic's not open on Sundays." Realising that the boy was talking to her, Satsuki quickly responded with a faint smile and started to walk away. All of a sudden, a hollow ran into the street and rushed straight at Satsuki. She stopped and stared.

"Watch out!" The guy shouted as he pushed Satsuki aside. She watched as the orange-haired boy's soul separate with his body. What? Satsuki thought, confused but continued to keep silent in case the hollow came after her. She watched as the boy unsheathed a giant sword and slashed the hollow across its mask. As the boy landed, the monster gave one last wail and disappeared. The boy quickly rejoined with his body and came over.

"Are you ok?"He said, worried.

Satsuki nodded and stood up. "So that's what Ru-chan meant by 'interesting people.'"She said to herself. "Are you Kurosaki Ichigo by any chance?"

Ichigo looked surprised, "Yea that's me… You must be our new neighbour…?"

"I'm Satsuki Yamane, nice to meet you. Oh, before I forget, Kuchiki Rukia told me to say hi to you."She held out her hand.

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a girl shouting, "Ichi-ni, don't forget to buy the milk!"

Ichigo replied with a nod and turned to face Satsuki, "I better get going, see you at school."

Maybe moving here is actually a good idea. Better hurry back to apologise to Ba-chan and Ji-chan. She thought as she watched Ichigo jog away.


	2. First Day of School

A/N: This chapter is sort of setting up the plot...? Anyway, this feels like a filler chapter...I'm not quite happy with how it turned out because it doesn't really contain much. The next chapter will be more eventful, I promise =D

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Chapter 2 – First Day of School

Misato Ochi walked into the classroom as the bell rang and told everyone to go back to their seats. When the classroom was quiet enough, with a big smile, Misato said, "Ok, everyone. I have some exciting news today. Today, we have not one, but TWO transfer students. The new students are Rukia Kuchiki and Satsuki Yamane. Come in, girls!"

The students watched as two girls stepped into the room. The first girl who came in was a bit short, with black-medium length hair and pale skin. She had a strand of black hair hanging between her violet-coloured eyes. The second girl who came in was nearly a head taller than her. She had long, wavy brown hair and jade-coloured eyes. Both girls smiled brightly at the class, giving off an easily-approachable impression.

From the back of the room, Ichigo watched speechless. He knew Satsuki was transferring to this school, but he had no idea Rukia was too. What was her reason for coming to the Human World this time?

"Please take your seats girls and we can start today's class," Misato said when the girls have finished introducing themselves. The only seats available in the classroom were in the back row, next to Ichigo. The boys in the class gave him envious glares as the girls took their seats. Ichigo simply ignored them.

...

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, all the boys swarmed over the transfer students. As Satsuki talked to the boys Rukia looked at Ichigo and motioned for him to rescue them. Ichigo beckoned to Yasutora Sado and together they rushed into the crowd and ran out, Chad carrying Satsuki and Ichigo carrying Rukia. They ran all the way up to the roof and met up with Orihime Inoue and Uryuu Ishida.

"What the heck do you think you're doing? Suddenly picking me up and carrying up here. I don't even know you!" Satsuki said angrily as Chad put her down. Rukia smiled helplessly as she watched Satsuki pat her skirt. When she did that, something fell out of her skirt pocket. Ichigo picked it up with curiosity and held it up to Satsuki questioningly.

"Give that it back! It's a very precious photo of me and Ba-chan and Ji-chan!" Satsuki said, who got more irritated and tried to reach for the photo. But Ichigo raised his hand up high so she couldn't snatch the photo back. As Satsuki tried to grab the photo, Ichigo studied the photo and his expression revealed that he was confused.

In the photo were Satsuki and two people. On her left was a man with grey eyes and wavy brown hair that was tied in a ponytail. On his cheeks and around his mouth were think facial hair and the left side of his face was framed by a long fringe. On Satsuki's right side was a woman with blonde hair that was long and wavy. She had blue eyes, large bosoms and around her neck was a thin golden necklace that was tucked in her cleavage.

"Why is your Oba-san and Oji-san M-?"

"Ichigo, you're being way too mean to Satsuki. Give the photo to me." Rukia quickly interrupted Ichigo and held out her hand for the photo. Ichigo looked at her palm and widened his eyes. "Keep talking and you are dead," was written on the palm of Rukia's hand. After seeing that, Ichigo obediently handed the photo to Rukia who passed the photo back to Satsuki. Satsuki quickly put the photo back in her pocket and glared at Ichigo.

"Uh… These people have helped me and soul society a lot. I already told you how they saved me from being executed, right? Let me introduce them…" Rukia tried to soften the atmosphere by talking about the past and it succeeded. Ten minutes later, they were chatting happily together.

"Ah, I know, why don't you all come over to my house this afternoon?" Orihime suddenly said. Satsuki hesitated, but since she was having so much fun, she decided it was ok. Her Uncle and Aunty went travelling the day before so there was only her and Rukia at home. She was surprised when Rukia showed up, as her second cousin, and her relatives had announced that Satsuki was to live with her because she thought Rukia's mission in Kyoto would take a long time to complete.

The others seemed to be free that afternoon so they all agreed to go to Orihime's house. "Great, then we'll all meet up after class and we can all go to my apartment," Orihime said happily just as the bell rang for class.


	3. After School

Chapter 3- After School

"How far away is your house Orihime-san?" Satsuki asked as she walked along the road beside Rukia, with the boys trailing along behind them.

Orihime, who was at the front, leading, turned around and replied with a cheerful, "We are nearly there."

As they walked, they saw a little brown-haired boy sitting on the low, stone wall, crying, who looked about 8 years old. They realised that he was a spirit when no one around them took notice of the crying child. The group walked passed him and as they did that, Satsuki gently grabbed hold of the boy's hand. The boy looked up, surprised, and Satsuki brought a finger to her lips and winked. They walked into a park and chose a park bench furthest from people.

After settling down on the park bench, the boy said, while sniffling, "I want my Kaa-chan."

Upon hearing that, the group fell silent, lost for words by this unexpected demand. Satsuki bent down and cuddled the little boy; she had always had a soft spot for little kids. "Aw, did you get separated from your mother? Where did you get separated from her?"

"I don't know," sniffed the little boy and he looked up sadly at Satsuki, "But I still remember how we got separated. We were in a car and another car ran into us and everything became black. When I woke up again I was alone on the street and everyone was ignoring me until you people came."

Everyone fell silent again; no one had the heart to tell the little boy that he had already died. Satsuki looked at Rukia, who in turn nodded. Ichigo and the others looked at this exchange in confusion. Abruptly, Satsuki turned to Chad, "You are not allowed to carry me, understood?" Surprised by the sudden demand, Chad just nodded, confused as to why Satsuki needed to be carried in the first place.

Satsuki took a deep breath and turned to the little boy, asking him gently, "Do you really wish to see your mother?" The boy answered with a nod.

Ichigo couldn't take it; he pulled Satsuki away from the boy and more or less shouted at her, "Oi! How are we supposed to find his mother? We don't even know the kid's name or his mother's name. Don't make promises you can't keep!"

Satsuki stared at Ichigo coldly, making him step back half a step. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around? Don't get in my way, idiot."

"Satsuki, do what you need to do. Ichigo, shut up!" Rukia said just as Ichigo was opening his mouth to say something insulting.

Satsuki gave Ichigo an angry glare and walked back to the little boy. She kneeled in front of the boy, closed her eyes and touched his forehead with hers. Instantly, the part where their foreheads touched glowed. The colour of the radiance was a light brown colour, the same colour as Satsuki's hair. Satsuki opened her eyes and slowly sat up straight. In the space between them appeared a white circle bordered with a brown outline.

Inside the circle appeared a picture, like a tiny TV screen. The picture showed a woman in her early thirties kneeing in front of a shrine that was in an alcove. The woman had black hair and was crying silently.

"It's Kaa-chan! But why is my picture next to Tou-chan? Kaa-chan said Tou-chan's picture was there because he…"

"In the car accident you that were in with your mother, you died, Yuu-chan. That's why your picture is there" Satsuki said gently, "My parents died last year, in a car crash, too. I cried and cried but one day, I saw my parents rise to heaven and I didn't cry anymore."

"Why didn't you cry after seeing them rise to heaven onee-chan?"

"Because, I know that the place they are going is a wonderful place," Satsuki smiled.

"If I go to heaven, will Kaa-chan stop crying? Will I be able to meed Tou-chan?" The little boy asked eagerly.

"Your mother will be happy because the place you go to is a wonderful place where no-one will ignore you, Yuu-chan."

The little boy, Yuu-chan, seemed shocked. How did onee-chan know my name? Before he could ask that question, Satsuki asked Yuu-chan if he wished to go to heaven. Yuu-chan nodded excitedly and said he wanted to make his mother happy again.

Satsuki smiled again and touched his forehead with her fingers. Yuu-chan closed his eyes, smiling, and was covered by a light blue light. As soon as the little boy's silhouette disappeared, Satsuki fell forward, a happy expression on her face. Ichigo, the first to recover from the shock of seeing what had happened, rushed forward to catch her and after seeing a gesture from Rukia, the group of spiritually aware students hurried to Orihime's apartment. Upon arriving there, and putting Satsuki into bed to rest, everyone demanded Rukia to tell them everything she knew about Satsuki. So she did.


	4. True Past

Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait everyone. School has started for me and it is currently killing my imagination =P I've been occupied with homework and other stuff lately. I am, after all, an asian. So education is very important...*cough cough* XD Hopefully, the chapters will get longer and more interesting. Please review my story =D

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Chapter 4 – True Past

The sun was setting as Rukia sighed and kneeled down in front of the low, square-shaped table coffee table. Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu and Orihime all kneeled at the table; their expression exposed their nervousness as they waited for Rukia to tell them the truth.

Rukia had her eyebrows knitted together as she thought hard on how to explain the situation. After a while she said, in a defeated tone, "I seriously don't know where to start explaining. Even though Satsuki and I are… Never mind, what I mean to say is, I don't know the whole story of how the incident happened. Basically, Satsuki is a shinigami and she is the captain of the 3rd division."

Everyone in the room gave a small gasp. The girl, who was sleeping so peacefully on a futon next to Rukia, was actually a captain-class shinigami? They had all known that someone had filled in the position of 3rd division captain, but they didn't know it was a girl. Despite her tall height, she was very thin and had paper-white skin. No matter how you looked at her, she didn't seem to have the capability of being a captain. Was she really powerful enough to succeed Aizen Sousuke's patner-in-crime, Ichimaru Gin?

The tense atmosphere was broken by a knock…from the _window_. Everyone stared at the fist on the glass. They were currently on the 2nd floor, who had the ability to knock on a window at this height?

The person outside the window showed their face, immediately everyone relaxed and Orihime quickly rushed over to open the window. The man who came in from the window was tall and light-skinned. He had light-blonde coloured hair that was unkempt with a strand of hair between his eyes. He was wearing a dark green shirt and pants, and a white hat with green stripes that shadowed his gray eyes. "Heard there was an important person around, so I thought I would drop by," Urahara Kisuke said, smiling.

After settling down on the zabuton, Urahara said, "Rukia doesn't know the full story of how Satsuki came to be like this, so I brought along this handy tool that would show us the past. Before I turn this on, the fee for using this is 20 000 yen per person (roughly 200 Aus Dollars)."

But after receiving murderous glares from Ichigo, Rukia and Uryuu, he quickly backtracked and said, while laughing hesitantly, "Kidding! I was just kidding. You know, lightening up the mood a bit? I said I was kidding Quincy, so please stop pointing that arrow at me. It's making me nervous."

The 'handy tool' that Urahara brought along with him looked like a small TV, with various buttons on the side. Ichigo and the others waited patiently as Urahara mumbled to himself while fiddling with the TV look-a-like, "Let's see, time is a month ago, place is Soul Society and the person in question is Satsuki Yamane Taichou. There, all done. Sit back and watch ladies and gentlemen!" Urahara said cheerfully as the machine flickered into life.

The instrument produced a clear view of a large room with a brown desk in the middle and bookshelves filled with documents that surrounded along two walls. The window behind the large desk showed a beautiful view of a large yard with lush green grass and various trees. There was also a large pond with a mini waterfall bordered with grey stones...

In front of the window stood a girl with brown long wavy hair and pale skin, wearing the standard shinigami uniform with a white haori over it that had the number 3 on the back…

"Yamane Taichou! There's an urgent message for you from Yamamoto Soutaichou to go see him in his office," A shinigami ran into the room, shouting like there was no tomorrow.

"We are inside a perfectly silent room and I have perfect hearing. I find difficulty understanding the reason why you need to shout in here. Was the previous Taichou of the third division deaf or something?" Satsuki turned around to face her subordinate, with a frown on her face. But the happy shine in her eyes gave her fake anger away.

The subordinate scratched his head and apologised, smiling. Even though it had already been 3 months since Satsuki Yamane became their captain, the shinigami in division 3 were still finding it hard adjusting to the new captain's personality. Their former captain, Ichimaru Gin, was always using sarcasm and mock politeness. He was distant to his subordinates whereas Yamane treated her subordinates as equals and always had an easily approachable aura and warm smile.

"You called for me, Soutaichou?" Satsuki asked after being led into the 1st division office by Sasakibe Choujirou, the vice captain of the 1st division.

"The hollow attacks are becoming more frequent and their actions organised. There seems to be a Vasto Lorde leading them. I want you to be in charge of the operation of eliminating the hollows and the one in charge."

Satsuki seemed confused by the request, "There are many other captains who are more capable of doing that mission."

"This hollow had control over large amounts of hollow. We need someone who has the ability of confronting multiple enemies at once. Also, you are yet to prove your capability to the other members of the Gotei 13. So far, only Ukitake, Kyouraku, Byakuya and I have seen your powers. I'm not asking you to perform you bankai in this mission, but I am asking you to take this opportunity and stop those pestering youngsters from bickering behind your back." Genryuusai Yamamoto's reply was soft but final.

As if on cue, when Yamamoto finished his speech, the alarm bells sounded. "Warning, hollow activity detected near the 5th division barracks! All captains and divisions prepare to intercept. 3rd division captain, Satsuki Yamane is in charge, please follow her orders without fuss! I repeat! Hollow activity…" A female voice flowed into the room through the intercom.

After being dismissed, Satsuki bowed respectfully to Yamamoto before hurrying out to confront the hollows. She froze on a rooftop when she saw the hollows spilling out of the Garganta like lava from a volcano. Almost all the hollows were Menos Grande, but she saw some Adjuchas amongst them. She always liked thinking them as miniature or overgrown hollows, it sounded cuter than 'Adjuchas' and 'Menos Grande'.

When the Garganta closed up, there were around 2000 hollows standing side by side as if waiting for orders. But that couldn't be, because Menos Grande didn't have the capability to think and plan.

Satsuki narrowed her eyes as she saw a creature that had a human's appearance stand in front of the group of hollows. The Vasto Lorde had a hole in her thigh that was slightly visible under her short, white dress that hugged every curve of her body. The dress was sleeveless and black-trimmed. She wore knee-length boots that had white vertical lines on it. Even though her clothes were standard hollow-like attire, her beauty stood out like a sore thumb. She had tanned skin, shoulder length, violet hair and pink coloured eyes. Her thin lips were pursed as she looked at the shinigami surrounding her.

A female shinigami stood in front of the crowd of shinigami as a representation of being in charge. The mysterious Vasto Lorde narrowed her eyes at Satsuki, as if challenging her, and calmly raised her right hand.

All hell broke loose when all the hollows charged at the shinigami.


	5. True Past  Part 2

A/N - Hi, my dear readers. Thank you for taking the time to read my fanfic. I'm trying my best to upload a chapter every weekend. I know it is a bit of a hassle, but please review. I would be very happy to receive some opinion from you. ^^

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Chapter 5 – True Past (Part 2)

The two girls stood facing each other, unmoving. The battle between the shinigami and hollows still raged on around them, but no attacks came their way. It was as if they were outsiders looking into the field of war.

The first to break the silence was the leader of the hollows.

"Where do you think you are shinigami? Do you realise you are in the middle of a battle? This isn't a party you know." The hollow girl stood with her hands on her hips, like a scolding mother. Her attitude contradicted her young appearance. Up close, her violet-coloured hair was layered and she wore a silver bracelet with little silver moon trinkets dangling on it. The remains of her hollow mask covered the left side of her head and also her left eye. She looked like she was the same age as Satsuki and even the same height. Satsuki's appearance was around 16 human-years, so that meant the Vasto Lorde in front of her had also lived for at least 160 years.

Satsuki immediately touched the earring on her left earlobe. It was in the shape of an azure-coloured marigold, the 3rd division's division flower. In her mind flashed images of the wing-shaped amethyst pendant on a golden chain around her neck. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail by a length of pink ribbon that fluttered in the wind.

"I feel no obligation to tell you. Perhaps next time, when I'm in a better mood and when you are not trying to sabotage Soul Society. By the way, I have a name you know, it's Satsuki Yamane. I've already told my name, now it's your turn. Show some manners, if you even have them."

"I feel no obligation to tell you." The hollow turned Satsuki's words against her, making her frown in disapproval. She could feel her temper rising but she wasn't about to let her feelings to take over; she still needed to ask this bothersome hollow some questions.

"Why are you forming armies of hollows? What do you gain from attacking Soul Society?" Satsuki decided to go straight to the point. No point beating around the bush when her teammates are fighting for their lives.

"To free them," the hollow surprised Satsuki by replying honestly.

If Menos Grandes were 'overgrown hollows' and Adjuchas were 'miniature hollows,' then Vasto Lordes were the 'masterminds.' The nickname wasn't cute but it told the truth. Vasto Lordes actually have a brain and know how to put it to good use. That's why they were harder to deal with than Menos Grande and Adjuchas. They excelled in both tactics and strength.

Satsuki chose to feign ignorance, "What? Who's 'them'? We don't put hollows in custody, we only purify them."

"Stop being stupid! I want my brothers and sisters out NOW! Or else I will call on more hollows to cause chaos on Soul Society!" The Vasto Lorde lost her cool and started holding a little tantrum without realising it.

"Who are you to threaten us? I will say it again, they are NOT IN CUSTODY!" Satsuki was trying her hardest not to lose her temper, but the female hollow's whinges were just too much. The plan to feign innocent was thrown to the back of her head. Wasn't she supposed to be the leader of the hollows? So why was she standing there and having a fit just because she didn't get what she wanted?

"YES THEY ARE! If you guys haven't locked them up, why can't they go back to Hueco Mundo?" The girl's pink eyes turned bright red and even stamped her foot in anger as she talked. With her eyes, she motioned to something behind Satsuki.

Instinctively, Satsuki pulled out her sword and blocked the Adjuchas blue-coloured cero. With an impatient flick of her wrist, the Adjucha was sliced in half. She turned back to her enemy and said, "I do not like spilling blood. I'm going to make you regret forcing me to pull my sword out."

Ignoring Satsuki's words and what just happened to her underling, the Vasto Lorde pointed at Satsuki's zanpakutou and laughed, "You think you are going to beat me with that? Puh-lease! That sorry excuse of a needle wouldn't even be able to kill a mouse!"

In Satsuki's hand was a grey sword, it was paper-thin and was around the same length of her arm. "Don't judge a shinigami by their zanpakutou, hollow. Unlike you, I am able to control my reiatsu. If I didn't control it, my zanpakutou would be the size of skyscrapers."

The hollow's laughter was cut short when Satsuki charged at her and swiped her zanpakutou at her head. The hollow ducked, but a shallow cut appeared on her fringeless forehead. She jumped out of the sword's reach, a large white spear already in her right hand. The head of the spear turned black, the excess liquid dripped and landed on a Menos Grande beneath them. It immediately dissolved and disappeared with a pitiful howl. A few shinigami who were surrounding the giant hollow turned and stared in shock.

Satsuki's eyes widened and her hands tightened on her zanpakutou. She looked at the smiling hollow. The smile was nowhere near heart-warming.

"Scared, Yamane Taichou?" The Vasto Lorde said, her tone boasting. "With that care-free attitude of yours, you won't be able to survive this little duel with me. You won't even be able to injure me even if you train for another hundred years. I have no interest with a wimp like you" She continued coldly and stood up straight. She let go of her spear and it disappeared as soon as it lost contact with her hand.

Satsuki cursed under her breath. The Ichiban Taichou was right. She needed to stop these people judging her by her appearance. While keeping a tag on the now-retreating hollow leader, Satsuki looked at her surroundings. Everyone was doing their best to fight off the hollows, but there were just too many of them. Who knew how many more hollows were up that stuck-up hollow's sleeves.

Suddenly, she felt movement to her left and automatically brought her sword up to block the attack. Her attacker was the hollow leader, "Looks like you do have some fighting abilities in you, Sa-tsu-ki-chan." The girl teased.

"Don't act like you know me, lowlife."

"Aww, don't be like that. Just because I caught you off guard doesn't mean you can call me names."

Satsuki had to bite back another string of insults. She was never really fond of cursing, but her patience was growing thin.

"Taichou, watch out!"

Satsuki heard someone shout and looked up to see a small figure falling. She reached out to catch the shinigami. It was the vice-captain of the 5th division, Momo Hinamori. Blood was seeping out of Momo's side and was on the verge of subconsciousness. Satsuki kept a blank expression plastered on her face, but inside, she was panicking. How was she going to get this wounded person away from the battlefield? Fights always led to spilling blood and lost life, but she wasn't ready to let anyone sacrifice yet. She frantically tried to think up a plan.

"Like captain, like subordinate. All of you are weak, weak, weak. I'm really surprised you guys have managed to keep my brothers and sisters here for so long," the hollow tutted at Satsuki before charging at her, the white spear back in her hand.

Sh1t! Satsuki thought as she got ready to block the hollow's attack. Suddenly, a pink wave cascaded around her and formed a protective wall in front of her.

"Always keep cool when facing an opponent. The second you panic, your enemy will kill you," a low voice came from behind her. Satsuki felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You're right, it was stupid of me to hesitate at a time like this," Satsuki nodded and smiled warmly at him. Byakuya Kuchiki nodded and patted her shoulder before taking the injured Momo and leaving to find a 4th division shinigami. He trusted that Satsuki had the capability of dealing with an enemy of this level, so he didn't ask to take over.

Satsuki turned around to face her enemy. She was studying the tip of the spear, it was blunt. Byakuya's Senbonzakura had cut the tip off the spear. The spear glowed a bit and the deadly, black tip was back. She looked up to see Satsuki watching her, grinning she said, "Looks like there is _some_ talent in this giant group of monkeys,"

The girl was getting on Satsuki's nerves. She talked too much for her own good, she had had enough. Satsuki brought her zanpakutou to her chest. The sight of her holding her sword to her chest brought a lot of attention from her colleagues.

The Vasto Lorde raised an eyebrow in surprise, "What? Are you suiciding because you've realised you can't win?"

"You wish. Like I told you before, I'm going to make you pay for making me use my sword. Kanae, Kuroyami no Tenshi!" And with that, Satsuki sank her zanpakutou into her chest.

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End note - If you don't know what the last bit means, Satsuki's zanpakutou and the command to trigger her shikai is 'Kanae, Kuroyami no Tenshi.' Which means (according to Google Translate,) 'Grant, Angel of Darkness.' I tried different names, but this turned out to be the best one... =P


	6. True Past Part 3

A/N: This weekend is a really crazy weekend even thought it just started. I have so many assignments to do... but I decided to post my fanfic first =D See how dedicated I am? XD This chapter is a bit rushed, so if its really bad... please so get angry at me .

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Chapter 6 – True Past (Part 3)

No one except the four captains, Byakuya Kuchiki, Juushirou Ukitake, Shunsui Kyouraku and Genryuusai Yamamoto, has seen Satsuki's Zanpakutou's power. The only reason she used her zanpakutou in front of the captains was because she had to show them her bankai in order to become a captain.

In the three months since she became a captain, she had always fought with the hollows using Kidou and her Zanpakutou's sealed form. That's why her subordinates always talked bad behind her back; they didn't believe she was capable of being their captain. However, after seeing Satsuki's shikai, all the shinigami who thought she was weak all changed their minds as they were shocked to the core by her power. Everyone stopped and stared at Satsuki as she unleashed her Shikai; it was as if the battle was on pause.

All they heard was their female captain shouting, "Kanae, Kurayami no Tenshi," and then stab her sword into her heart. But no blood came out, what did come out, however, was a beautiful set of black angel wings that was about 30 metres long and had layer upon layer of glossy, black feathers. She shook her wings a couple of times, as if testing them, the action caused a small and elegant 'swish' sound. After checking on her wings, she looked up to her awaiting enemy.

Seeing Satsuki now weaponless, the hollow girl charged toward Satsuki, spear in hand. Before her spear connected with Satsuki's head, the hollow girl was surprised to find her attack being block by a long black sword. It took her a few seconds to realise the black sword was made from the feathers of Satsuki's wings.

While the hollow was still in confusion, Satsuki had swiped the spear aside and slashed at the girl's stomach. The female Vasto Lorde jumped back in alarm, but blood was already flowing steadily out of her gash, dyeing her short, white dress a bright red.

The injured girl tried to stand, but her legs failed to support her so she couldn't do anything as she watched Satsuki walk slowly up to her. "Stupid girl, what were you thinking? The moment you underestimate your opponent, you lose the battle. That is common sense," Satsuki said angrily as she walked. The girl didn't reply, instead she looked away, ignoring her words.

"I will say it again. We are not keeping the remaining Espada captive. Even though I didn't take part in the fight with Aizen, I understand the Gotei 13's motives in forming a truce with them. They are strong people, so having them on our side is a comforting thought. We didn't stop them from going back to Hueco Mundo, it's them that don't want to go back home. We gave them a choice and they chose to stay in Soul Society," Satsuki patiently explained.

Satsuki kneeled down in front of the wounded hollow and lightly touched the girl's forehead. Her hand shone a bright orange and a series of images flowed into Satsuki's mind. After a while, Satsuki recomposed herself and started talking again but this time her tone was hard and menacing, "Now that you understand the situation, I wish that you leave and never come back to Soul Society, Leila."

The hollow –Leila– didn't even question Satsuki as to why she knew her name as she stood up and opened the Garganta. She stopped in front of the opening, confused as to why she was listening to Satsuki's wish. Leila tried to stop herself from stepping into the Garganta, but when Satsuki said her name again her body automatically responded and led her into the Garganta and out of Soul Society.

After seeing the Garganta close up again, Satsuki turned around to face the ongoing battle around her. "Strength," she mumbled as she silently beat her wings. However, this time, the feathers started falling off her wings and flying toward the shinigami who were scattered all over the place. New feather grew to replace the ones that had scattered.

All the shinigami reached out curiously to touch the feather, as soon as they made contact with the black feather; it immediately turned pure white and was absorbed into their bodies. After a few moments, each shinigami felt an immense surge of energy rise up inside them. Their movements became faster and their attacks became more powerful.

Kira Izuru, who was only a few metres away from Satsuki, walked up to Satsuki hesitantly, "Taichou…?"

Satsuki instantly knew what he wanted to know and simply said, "It is me and my zanpakutou, Kurayami no Tenshi's doing, Kira."

"Enhancing battle abilities?"

"Part of it, but its main power is granting wishes."

"Then why is its name "Angel of Darkness?" The vice captain seemed sceptical.

"Questions later, Kira-dono, right now we need get rid of this group of troublemakers," Satsuki looked at Kira, reminding him of the current situation. He quickly apologised, bowed and hurried away. That guy needs more self-confidence, Satsuki thought. She shook her head and focused on the battle in front of her.

Because of Satsuki's feathers, every shinigami became more powerful. But that didn't mean her job was done. There were still about 1000 hollows left.

"Tenshi no Chiri," She said under her breath before flying over the hollows. Black dust fell from her wings, showering the hollows with it. The hollows immediately stopped as if frozen. Satsuki swooped low and every time she swiped her sword, two hollows died. For some reason, when she was doing this, her expression was unhappy.

Her comrades watched in awe, but they quickly returned to work when they felt Satsuki's sharp gaze land on them. Sometime later, all the hollows were killed and the shinigami were left to mend the damages.

Kira, who was still curious about Satsuki's zanpakutou, found Satsuki sitting on the roof of the 3rd division barracks. He faltered when he saw her talking to Byakuya. The female captain turned her head when she felt his presence.

"Kira-dono," Satsuki smiled and patted the space beside her. Kira felt a chill run down his spine when Byakuya turned to look at Kira, as if sensing this, Satsuki turned and tutted at Byakuya. Kira tried to maintain a straight face as he watched Byakuya turn away and cross his arms childishly.

Sighing, Satsuki stood up. "I've got to check on the damages, so I'll see you two later." She glanced at Byakuya before leaving. He was still looking away but Kira knew he was sneaking glances in her direction.

Just as Kira was about to open his mouth, Byakuya suddenly stood up and walked past Kira without looking at him. Kira sighed deeply as he watched Byakuya walk away. The captain hardly ever talked to Kira and now that he had to work with Satsuki everyday… Kira sighed again.

...

Satsuki walked slowly, careful to not make eye contact with anyone. Even though she sounded confident when she explained the truce between the shinigami and the Espada to Leila, she wasn't entirely sure if it was true because she hadn't joined the Gotei 13 then. She was really bothered by that. Was the so-called truce really just an excuse to keep the Espada in Soul Society? She felt ashamed because she didn't believe in her own kind, but she couldn't help it.

She rounded a corner and walked straight into someone. Two someones to be exact. Standing in front of her was a middle-aged man and a young girl. The man had blue-gray eyes and wavy, shoulder-length brown hair. Around his neck were the remains of his hollow mask which reminded Satsuki of a necklace. The girl had pink eyes and green hair, but her left eye was covered by a helmet-like remainder of her hollow mask. Starrk Coyote stood in front of Satsuki with Lilynette Ginerback beside him. "Great job during the battle, I didn't know if you had it in you to do that," Starrk said. Then he noticed Satsuki's troubled expression so he asked her about it.

"The hollow said you were being kept captive by us. But the Espada had a choice to stay in Soul Society or go back to Hueco Mundo, right?" Satsuki looked at Starrk and Lilynette, her eyes silently pleading.

"You shouldn't believe in the enemy's words that easily, it leads to many problems. But what you said to her was true, we had a choice to stay or leave. If we wanted, we could return to Hueco Mundo anytime we wanted. There were only six of us that survived the battle. All of us decided to stay and we fit in quite well actually. Us in the 8th division, Tia Harribel in the 10th division, Ulquiorra Cifer in the 6th division, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez in the 11th division and Szayel Aporro Granz in the 12th division," Starrk was about to keep talking, but Lilynette kicked his shin to remind him of their task at hand. Starrk yelped in pain, ignoring his complaints Lilynette said goodbye to Satsuki and dragged Starrk away.

Now that she felt more relaxed, she started noticing what was happening around her. A lot of the buildings were damaged and all the shinigami who weren't too injured were fixing the buildings. They waved to Satsuki when they saw her. Shocked, Satsuki waved back hesitantly and kept walking. Before, the other shinigami never paid her much attention because they didn't think Satsuki was capable of being their captain. Now that they had all seen and experienced Satsuki's zanpakutou, they all accepted and respected her.

Satsuki walked upon a scene where a group of shinigami were trying to save someone trapped underneath the debris. They turned to Satsuki for help. She nodded and told them to step aside. Looking at the shinigami stuck underneath the rubble, she quickly unsheathed her sword and mumbled something. The wreckage moved away as if by magic, leaving the half-conscious man lying on the ground. Satsuki excused herself and continued to find other people who needed her help. Satsuki went around helping others for the rest of the day, only allowing herself to rest when night fell and all the damaged buildings were fixed.

Kira found Satsuki sitting on the roof on the 3rd division barracks with Byakuya again. The two captains were admiring the bright, full moon. They seemed to be in good spirits, with Satsuki laughing softly every now and then and Byakuya even managed to smile a few times. Kira felt bad on intruding, so he reluctantly decided to ask Satsuki questions another time. The two captains were too engrossed in their conversation to notice Kira's arrival and silent departure.

...

As much as Satsuki wanted to go outside and enjoy the sunshine, she couldn't, because she had stacks upon stacks of documents to read and sign. Feeling tired, she dropped her feather pen on the desk and stretch. She walked up to the window and stared longingly at the sun. Suddenly, a black butterfly fluttered into view. As soon as Satsuki saw it, she hastily opened the window to let it in.

"All captains and Espada please meet at the meeting room right now," She heard when the hell butterfly landed on her finger. After giving the message, the butterfly left from the window. Satsuki rushed out of the room at the same time.

She was the last one to arrive at the meeting room so she quietly took her place.

"The shinigami in charge of the Kyoto reported an abnormal increase of hollow reiatsu in the area. I wish to send some captains over to investigate this matter as the perpetrator may be the same Vasto Lorde who attacked Soul Society a few days ago," Yamamoto went straight to the point. Everyone remained silent as Yamamoto talked, not daring to interrupt him. Yamamoto looked around the room to find people suitable for this mission. His gaze landed on Satsuki.

"Before the Vasto Lorde left Soul Society, Satsuki looked into her memories and obtained background information on the hollow, Leila. Apparently, she was one of Aizen's followers and was supposed to be changed into Arrancar sometime soon. But we defeated Aizen before she had the chance to undertake the change. Even though she is claiming to bring the Espada back to Hueco Mundo, her real goal is to take revenge for Aizen. Since she knows a lot of information on Leila, I am assigning her to go to the Human World to deal with her.

"Toushirou, you and your subordinate Matsumoto will accompany her to the Human World. Byakuya, you and Renji go, too. The visored will help you if you need reinforcements. The rest of you, don't slack off, make preparations just in case. You are dismissed." His tone was final so no one dared to object his decision.

Satsuki walked up to Toushirou and Byakuya as everyone was walking out of the room. "I was wondering, can we use my Senkaimon to cross to the Human World?" She said the other two. They didn't object so Satsuki continued talking, "We don't know how long we are staying in the Human World, so I need to make some preparations. I'll see you guys later then." Satsuki waved and walked away. She had a bad feeling about going to the Human World, but she dismissed the feeling. I'm just too nervous, she thought to herself. After all, it is my first time going there. She kept repeating that thought over and over as she walked home.

Satsuki stood in front of the door to her mansion, thinking up a way to explain the current situation to her servants. Suddenly, the wooden doors opened, revealing a young girl with braids, "Welcome home, Satsuki-hime- sama." The girl bowed as soon as she saw her mistress. Satsuki smiled and walked in with the young servant in tow. They've been looking after her since 50 years ago, when her parents died. Even though her servants still called her 'Hime-sama,' they were like her family.

...

It was midnight when the three captains and two vice-captains stood in front of the Yamane Family's Private Senkaimon. Each person had a hell butterfly flying beside them. No one was surprised to find a Senkaimon in Satsuki's backyard. The Yamane family was, after all, one of the four noble families in Soul Society, The large wooden doors was black, the Yamane Family's family colour. In the middle of the Senkaimon was the family's emblem. The hexagonal emblem had a bleach background with a white star in the middle. The star had white angel wings. Above the star was a white full moon half hidden behind clouds.

After taking a deep breath, Satsuki motioned to one of her servants to open the door. When it was fully opened, the five members of the Gotei 13 and their hell butterflies all stepped into the Senkaimon without a backward glance.

* * *

End note: I'm sorry for the Japanese.. But it just sounded cooler with it =D I think i only used one phrase of Japanese, "Tenshi no Chiri,' it means angel's dust (according to google translate). It's so hard thinking up names, but I'll continue to try my hardest~


	7. True Past Final Part

A/N: It's becoming a habit... Updating at 11 at night. If you find mistakes please keep in mind that I am sleep-deprived and forgive me. Reviews appreciated. ^^

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Chapter 7 – True Past (Final Part)

Satsuki was the first one to step out of the Senkaimon. She looked around, astonished by how similar the Human World was to Soul society and was mesmerised by the millions of city lights shining below her. The lights almost out-shone the stars above her head. She was forced out of her trance when she heard someone shout her name. She turned around to see a short black-haired girl standing before her.

"Rukia," Satsuki said, shocked, "You're the watcher of the Kyoto area?"

Rukia nodded and then bowed respectfully to the other four shinigami behind Satsuki. When she stood up straight, her gaze landed on the tall, dark-haired male beside Satsuki. "Nii-sama," Rukia said softly.

Byakuya responded with a slight nod. The group of shinigami immediately started to explain the situation to Rukia and think up attack plans and strategies. Satsuki was amazed that her allies seemed to be immune to the beauty of the Human World. She watched as the shinigami talked to Rukia as if they were still in Soul Society.

"Long time no see, Rukia," Matsumoto said as she hugged the small girl, "I haven't seen you since the battle with Aizen. How've you been?"

"Good. Not many hollows appear in this area because Kyoto doesn't have a high level of spiritual pressure. It's so peaceful here, compared to Karakura," Rukia replied casually. "The proposal to set up a place for accommodation in the Human World was a great idea. Now that I have a place to stay, the Human World almost feels like a second home to me."

"Second home," Satsuki repeated, thoughtful. Maybe she should buy a house here; she could use it when she gets a vacation of work–if she gets a vacation off work.

The calm atmosphere was shattered by a beeping noise from Rukia's Denreishinki. In an instant, everyone was alert, with one hand on their zanpakutou, ready to unsheathe it at any time. After checking the screen of her phone, Rukia gestured to the other five to follow her.

They reached the eastern side of the city in a matter of seconds and watched silently as huge amounts of hollows spilled out of the Garganta. The last to come out of the opening was the Vasto Lorde, Leila. Déjà vu much, Satsuki thought.

Leila widened her eyes when she noticed the group of shinigami advancing toward her and her army of hollows. Even though she had anticipated that this would happen, she didn't think Soul Society would send captain and vice-captain ranked shinigami to the Human World. Before any of the shinigami could react, Leila signalled for her underlings to attack the city.

"You guys go deal with the hollows; I'll take care of Leila," Satsuki said without taking her eyes off the girl. Rukia looked at Satsuki, a worried expression on her face, but after seeing Satsuki's reassuring smile she left reluctantly.

As soon as the two girls were alone, Leila said, "I knew I was going to see you here."

"And whose fault is that?" Satsuki replied, her hand still on the handle of her zanpakutou.

"Since I'm not allowed to go to Soul Society, this is the only way to lure you out," Leila said.

Satsuki raised an eyebrow, "Are you going to tell me you caused this commotion just so you could talk to me?"

"I have a proposal to make."

"Proposal?"

"I want a rematch."

"Excuse me?"

"If I win, you have to let me back into Soul Society. If you win, I will stay in Hueco Mundo and never bother you shinigami again."

Satsuki thought about the hollow's proposal for a few minutes. She didn't trust Leila, but the hollow seemed sincere about this deal so she agreed.

The two girls stood staring at each other. In a flash, Satsuki unsheathed her sword and used Shunpo to swiftly move to where Leila was standing. Leila hastily summoned her spear and clumsily blocked it, unable to keep up with Satsuki's speed. After a few moments of struggling, Satsuki reached out and grabbed the white spear. She swung her sword and the hollow jumped back, letting go of her spear. Satsuki watched as the spear in her hand slowly disappeared. When she looked up, the spear was back in Leila's hand.

"The spear's formed from my reiatsu, so it's no use taking it off me."

Satsuki shrugged and said, "It's always good to try."

Holding her sword parallel to the ground, Satsuki commanded, "Kanae, Kurayami no Tenshi," and sank her sword into her chest. The black winds formed, but this time Satsuki kept them folded up. A few feathers detached themselves from Satsuki's wings and floated into her outstretched hand. The feathers immediately formed into a thin, black sword. She took a step and in an instant she was beside Leila. Satsuki aimed her sword at Leila's heart.

Leila brought her spear up to block the attack. The two girls stayed in that position for a few moments and jumped backwards simultaneously.

Leila tutted when she saw a crack on her spear. If they had stayed in that position a bit longer, her spear would've been split in half. She channelled her reiatsu into the spear and the crack disappeared.

Less than a minute had passed since Satsuki unsheathed her zanpakutou, but both girls were already out of breath. But Satsuki didn't give Leila time to rest. She beat her wings, sending her feathers flying towards Leila. Leila swung her spear and each time it connected with a feather, there was a loud high-pitched sound, like metal connecting with metal.

When the wave of lethal feathers ceased, the hollow girl used Sonido, which is the hollow variation of Shunpo, to minimise the distance between her and the female captain and sneak an attack. However, Satsuki's reaction time was faster than Leila had anticipated, so she ended up being the one who got hurt. Satsuki stared at the vertical wound on the hollow's torso as she slashed at the air to get rid of the blood on her sword. Blood was already flowing steadily out of Leila's wound.

Leila was confused by Satsuki's sudden increase in fighting abilities, but she quickly remembered that by unleashing one's shikai, they become more powerful. Standing a good 10 metres away from Satsuki, Leila started talking as if they were old friends. "I saw how you dealt with the soldiers I had left behind in Soul Society from Las Noches. And it amazed me to see you make your opponents into sitting ducks with your Tenshi no Chiri. You didn't even have to aim to be able to kill them. But you didn't seem too happy with the results. May I ask why?"

"…" Satsuki remained quiet as she listened to Leila's speech. The suddenly, "I wish that you sit down for five minutes."

If Leila was surprised, she didn't show it as her body was forced into a sitting position. Satsuki walked up to Leila slowly as she thought of what to say, "Of course I wasn't happy. For one, I hate fighting. I've always hated it and I always will. If I'm forced to fight, I seek fair battles. It is only natural to feel unhappy about taking the enemy's freedom to move."

"'A shinigami's zanpakutou reflect on the Shinigami's soul and power. The zanpakutou also shares the same convictions as its master,' I've heard that from Aizen-sama before. If that was true, then what you've just told me was complete bullsh!t." Leila didn't bother trying to stand up. She already learnt from before that it was no use trying to oppose against Satsuki's wishes.

"When I was still learning the ways of the shinigami at the Shinigami Academy, I was young and reckless. By the time I understood the burden of fighting and started hating it, I was stuck with this power. To be absolutely truthful, I hate my zanpakutou, my occupation, my strength… basically, I hate everything about me. And being the 28th head of one of the four noble families in Soul Society doesn't exactly make things easier."

"If you hate your zanpakutou, then don't use it. If you hate your occupation, then quit. If you hate your strength, then abandon it. Even better, if you hate yourself so much then just should've just wished for your own death with that awesome zanpakutou of yours or something," Leila smirked. "But now that you've met me, you don't have to do that, because I will do it for you. You're gonna die today, Satsuki."

"As if you could kill me in this situation you're in right now. You're the one that's going to die today, not me," Satsuki said and without hesitating, she swiped at the girl's head.

Leila summoned her spear and blocked the attack. After swiping Satsuki's sword away, Leila stood up and jumped back. Five minutes was up, she was free to move again. Upon regaining her balance, she charged at Satsuki again, not giving her a chance to react.

Satsuki swiped her sword at the oncoming enemy, but the hollow had suddenly disappeared. She cautiously looked around her, keeping a tight hold on her sword. She felt movement behind her so she proceeded to cut at the space behind her. Unexpectedly, her sword was forced to a stop.

Satsuki watched the blood seep out of Leila's hand as she held onto the blade, not letting go. Using her left hand, Leila jabbed Satsuki with her acid-tipped sword. Satsuki quickly let go of her sword to jump out of the way but she wasn't quick enough so she received a shallow cut on her upper-arm. She had expected to see her arm be dissolved straight away but all she saw was the black liquid ooze inside her wound as if it were alive.

Satsuki looked at the Vasto Lorde, her face expressionless, "I thought the black substance was supposed to be acid?"

Leila shrugged her shoulders, "The liquid changes with my mood," she said carelessly.

Satsuki remained expressionless upon hearing the hollow girl's answer, but on the inside, Satsuki was fighting the urge to scream. She didn't know if the poison was potentially deadly or not and it was driving her crazy.

Leila stood examining the sword Satsuki had left behind. It had changed back into feathers. Satsuki's power continued to amaze Leila, making her want a zanpakutou even more. I will make you pay for interrupting Aizen-sama's plans, Leila thought darkly. If it weren't for you shinigami, I would be an Arrancar by now.

With one swift movement, Leila threw the bunch of feathers back at Satsuki. They immediately flew into Satsuki's outstretched hand and, once again, formed into a think, sharp katana.

Leila and Satsuki exchanged a couple of jabs and parries for a few moment. Suddenly, a surprise yelp came from one of the girls. Leila jumped back hastily, nearly falling over when she landed. Reaching from her left shoulder to her right hip was a long, deep gash. The newly sustained injury formed an 'X' on the hollow's torso. Leila was losing blood fast as blood flowed from both injuries. Leila fell to her knees and she fought to stay conscious.

Satsuki stared at the girl kneeling in front of her, her eyes devoid of emotion. She raised her sword up high, ready to give the hollow the final blow.

"If I had known this would happen, I should've just killed you when you invaded Soul Society. Bu because of you, I got a chance to visit the Human World, so I have to thank you for this. I'll consider this a thank you present for not killing you in Soul Society." Satsuki brought her sword down sadly, but her weapon didn't waver as she swung it.

"I wish you would stop moving for 5 minutes," Leila said quickly, her expression triumphant.

"How did you…?" Satsuki's face paled as she was forced to stop mid-swing.

Leila stood up shakily and grinned at Satsuki. "I told you before; I've been doing a lot of thinking these days. Today was actually a trial to test out my theory about your power. It was risky, too. If my theory was wrong, then I would've been killed by you but it looks like the gods have taken a liking to me." Leila smiled angelically but her actions were anything but that. She swung her spear and it landed heavily on Satsuki's left shoulder. Satsuki dropped her sword and landed on her knees. Her shoulder was broken, but she was still unable to move.

"That was payback for the injury you gave me from our first encounter," Leila jabbed once at Satsuki's stomach before continuing her speech, "That is for the injury you gave me five minutes ago." Leila pointed at the vertical gash on her body. "And this," Leila said as she sank her spear into Satsuki's thigh, "was for the injury you just gave me."

Satsuki bit back tears as she watch blood flow out of her stomach and thigh. The pain was excruciating, but she remained silent. Her internal clock informed her that 2 minutes have passed since Leila made her wish.

"How it feel to have a taste of you own medicine?" Leila said as she crouched down in front of Satsuki. Leila looked at the situation behind Satsuki. The other 5 shinigami had already finished killed off all her soldiers and appeared to have no major injuries. She needed to end this fast. 3 more minutes to go until Satsuki could move again.

Leila returned her gaze to the girl in front of her. She hadn't moved since she had fallen to her knees. "My second wish…" Leila declared, "I wish I had your zanpakutou's power." There. She said it. Leila smiled genuinely for the first time. She was finally going to be an Arrancar!

Satsuki watched Leila be encased in a blinding white light. When the light faded away, the girl was covered from head to toe in a bone-white suit. The girl stood up slowly and jumped back. At first, Satsuki didn't understand why the girl had retreated, but after feeling a pair of hands lift her off the ground, she understood. Her allies have come to help her.

Satsuki motioned to Byakuya to put her down. When she was standing, she glared at the Arrancar-to-be. 5 minutes had finally passed so Satsuki was able to move again.

Leila had already opened up a Garganta and had one foot in it. She turned back to Satsuki and said happily, "Before I forget. I have one more wish to make." Satsuki stared at the girl. The bad feeling Satsuki had ever since she came to the Human World threatened to overtake her. She wanted to cover her ears and scream because she knew what the hollow would wish for. Her only hope was for the power to be incomplete…

"I wish that you die, Satsuki Yamane. Right here, right now." Beneath her full body suit, Leila smiled coldly and closed up the Garganta. I must back to Hueco Mundo and make preparations to invade Soul Society again, Leila thought. She was already starting to feel the invisible chains that stopped her from going to Soul Society unravel. The shinigami had stayed true to her word and Leila was allowed back into Soul Society again.

As the Garganta closed up, Satsuki fell slowly from the sky. She stared at her comrades and at Byakuya, who was rushing to catch her. But by the time Byakuya caught up to her, her eyes were already closed and her body was limp.

* * *

End Note: This flashback has finally ended! I think I might have dragged it out too long. =S Anyways, please continue to support me. =D


	8. Back to the Present

A/N: Phew... I nearly didn't have a chapter to post this week. School has been crazy... I had like three tests/assignments this week and more are coming. . I've been being a good girl and studied...sorta... I ended up spending most of my 'study' time reading manga. So i didn't get as much time to write this week and it wasn't helping that a certain friend kept on throwing scrunched up paper at my head... You know who you are *Stares* I'm so glad i can write on the spot, otherwise i'd have been dead. (Literally dead, because some people threatened to kill me if i didn't post something this week) ^^"

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Chapter 8 – Back to the Present

"Turn off the machine, Urahara. I think they've seen enough to know the situation," Rukia said, breaking the silence. Everyone in the room blinked and stretched. While they were watching the past, night had already fallen on the town of Karakura. Orihime stood up to turn on the lights and get more tea.

"Just because you don't want them to see…" Urahara's voice was drowned out by Rukia throwing a cushion at him and shouting, "Shut up!"

The machine was still playing as the two shinigami argued. It showed Byakuya carrying Satsuki and landing on a nearby rooftop where the other four shinigami were. The shinigami crowded around their fallen comrade, who had turned a bright green from someone's healing Kidou.

"Nee-chan!" Rukia frantically shouted while she shook Satsuki's limp body as if trying to wake her up. Something warm and transparent slid down Rukia's cheek…

With a frustrated yell, Rukia threw her empty cup at the TV-look-a-like. The screen went black as cracks fanned out from where the cup connected with the screen, forming a giant spider web. The small shinigami turned and stared at Urahara with eyes burning with anger.

Urahara stared at Rukia in disbelief, but not anger. "What did you do that for, Rukia-chan?" He said as he scratched his head.

"That's what you get for not doing what I say," Rukia huffed and turned to Ichigo, who was staring at her. "What? I WILL pay for the repair fees, you know," She said, irritated, and crossed her arms.

Ichigo coughed and said, trying to sound care-free, "What's so bad about seeing you cr-"

Rukia chucked a pillow at Ichigo's face, shutting him up. Breathing heavily, she turned to Urahara and said, "Thanks for bringing that gizmo, it made explaining the situation much easier, but I'll be taking care of things from here. And I believe someone is here to take you home." Rukia motioned to the window with her head.

They all turned to see a black cat with yellow eyes sitting on the window sill. Yoruichi Shihoin raised a paw and meowed as a greeting. After seeing the cat, Urahara stood up with a sigh and picked up his belongings. "Call me if you need me," he said cheerfully as he walked out the window. Yoruichi jumped onto Urahara's shoulder and the two of them suddenly disappeared, obviously using Shunpo.

After seeing Urahara leave, Rukia sat down. Rukia watched as Orihime poured tea into her cup. Surprisingly, the cup wasn't broken from its impact with the machine's screen. After taking a tentative sip of the hot tea, Rukia began talking. "It turned out that Satsuki wasn't dead, so we let her rest in my house. She stayed unconscious for twelve days. In that time, Leila didn't come back to the Human World and there were no reports of her invading Soul Society.

"For some reason, when she woke up on the thirteenth day, she had fake memories. Apparently, I was her childhood friend; Matsumoto and Kyouraku Taichou were her Aunt and Uncle. And even though she knew I was a shinigami, she had no memory of herself or her so-called relatives being a shinigami." Rukia looked outside, it was completely dark now. The only light illuminating the town was the lone moon in the starless sky. A storm was coming, Rukia thought as a wave of unease washed over her.

"She woke just as we decided to come to Karakura and after a small argument, Satsuki, Matsumoto Fukutaichou and Kyouraku Taichou moved into the house next door to Ichigo. I arrived in Karakura the day after to take over the job of supervising Satsuki because Matsumoto Fukutaichou and Kyouraku Taichou had to go back to Soul Society to tend to some matters. Then Satsuki and I started attending Karakura High School, we met up with you guys and now we're here."

"Hang on," Ichigo said when Rukia had finished talking, "Why couldn't you just take Satsuki back to Soul Society?"

Rukia stared at Ichigo as if he had just asked the stupidest question in the world and said, "She's a noble."

"So?"

"How do you think that would impact on Soul Society?"

"How should I know? I don't live there."

Rukia wondered what would happen if she threw her cup at Ichigo's face. The answer came a few nanoseconds later, when Ishida used all his strength to peg his empty cup at Ichigo. Rukia felt like cheering.

Ichigo stood up, holding his bleeding nose and pointed an accusing finger at Ishida. "What the heck did you do that for?" he yelled.

Ishida pushed his glasses up with his middle finger, enraging Ichigo even more. "Baka," Ishida said as he stared coldly at the orange-haired boy. "If the people of Soul Society found out that one of their nobles had lost their memories and thought that they were a human, what would they do?"

"Is that a trick question?"

Rukia and Ishida sighed at the same time. The female shinigami pulled out a notebook from somewhere and started drawing. When she was done, she held it up so everyone could see it. It was a picture of a four-legged table. Beside it was another table, but this time the legs were replaced with bunnies and the top was replaced by a rough outline of Soul Society. One of the bunnies had long black hair and on its torso was the letter 'K.' Another bunny had dark skin and long, purple hair and on its torso was the letter 'S.' The third bunny had long, wavy, brown hair, the letter 'Y' was on its torso. The fourth bunny was covered by Rukia's fingers so they couldn't see its appearance.

"These bunnies here represent the four noble families. 'K' is for the Kuchiki family. 'S' stands for the Shihoin family and 'Y' is for the Yamane family. The fourth family is of no concern to the current situation but I will talk more about them if need be. Anyways, the four families act like the pillars of Soul Society."

Rukia flipped to the next page, revealing the same picture but, this time, the bunny representing the Yamane family was nowhere to be seen. With only three legs, Soul Society was starting to tilt. "If the people of Soul Society were to know of this predicament, they would panic and not even the Gotei 13 would be able to calm them. It would be dangerous if Soul Society became unstable. Do you understand now? Right now, only the captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13 but they can't keep quiet forever, so we need to solve this problem as soon as possible."

The room fell silent, absorbing what they just heard. Unable to stand the silence, Orihime chimed in, "The rabbits are cute, Rukia-chan."

Rukia smiled helplessly, "Thank you, Inoue. Chappy is very cu-"

"Are you kidding? Yuzu could draw better than that at age three." Ichigo interrupted thus earning another cup thrown at his nose. This time, the cup was still half full and the liquid spilled all over Ichigo's school uniform. He yelped and jumped about as the hot tea burned his skin. Chad, who was sitting beside Ichigo, quickly passed him a box of tissues.

"What the hell is going on here? I thought I had already explained to you guys that I haven't been sleeping properly ever since I came to this town and asked that you guys keep quiet while I rested," said a frustrated female voice. The room turned silence as everyone turned to the direction the voice came from. Rukia quickly hid her drawings as they saw the brown-haired girl yawning and stretching her arms so that her body formed the letter 'Y'. Satsuki was finally awake. She looked at Ichigo and nearly laughed her head off, feelings of annoyance gone, "My first impression of you was 'very stupid,' but never in my life did I think you were this stupid. If you need to use the bathroom, just go, you don't need to jump around like that. Eh? What's…? Oh my God! I can't believe you peed in your pants!"

Ichigo's face turned bright pink and stomped angrily out of the room, a few seconds later everyone heard the bathroom door being slammed shut. As soon as Ichigo was out of the room, everyone started laughing. "Good one, Satsuki, I never knew he could turn into that colour." Rukia said laughing.

...

A good five minutes later, Ichigo was back from the bathroom. He had changed into his sports uniform and his face was back to its normal colour. Everyone had calmed down from their laughing fit. They had takeaway for the outside, everyone said it would be too much trouble for Orihime to cook for them, but on the inside, everyone except Satsuki was scared of eating Orihime's dishes.

"It was amazing how you granted that little boy's wish and then sending him to Soul Society this afternoon, Satsuki-chan," Orihime said cheerfully and placed a cup of tea in front of Satsuki.

Satsuki's happy expression turned into one of confusion, "What do you mean by his wish? Yuu-chan was sent to Soul Society by Rukia, not me."

"Huh? Stop lying, Satsuki. The person who performed the Soul Burial wasn't Rukia or me, it was you. And right after you did that, you fainted." Ichigo retorted, thinking that Satsuki was joking with them.

Satsuki's expression showed both irritation and confusion, "I have no idea what you are talking about and, for your information, I don't lie." Satsuki crossed her arms and pouted. Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but Rukia interrupted him.

"Enough's enough, Ichigo. It is mean to play tricks on a girl, especially one who has only just woken up," Rukia's tone was light, but her gaze was sharp and threatening. Rukia punched Ichigo's arm seemingly playfully, but the boy could already feel a bruise forming on his arm. Looks can sure be deceiving, Ichigo thought as he rubbed his arm.

"That's right, idiot. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the little girl's room." Satsuki stood up and walked swiftly out the door, head held high.

"Did you see that? What kind of attitude is that, acting all high and mighty? And what did she mean by 'I have no idea what you are talking about'?" Ichigo pointed at the door and crudely imitated Satsuki's voice by raising his voice three octaves higher.

"Stop with the childishness, Ichigo. You can't blame Satsuki, she is a noble. And about her not knowing anything, I've heard of this sort of thing happen once from Matsumoto-san. The morning Satsuki was coming to Karakura, she claimed to have been walking around town saying good-bye to her friends when, in actual fact, she had went straight for the car as soon as she woke up that morning. So I think her memories were replaced by fake memories of her seeing me perform the soul burial and asking to take a rest when we arrived at Orihime's apartment," Rukia said, feeling disappointed. She had thought that if Satsuki used her power, she would regain some of her memories.

...

Satsuki sat on the tiled floor of Orihime's bathroom with her back against the wall. She rested her head on her arms and groaned inwardly. She had a massive headache ever since she woke up and the mention of her performing the soul burial just intensified the migraine even more. Every time she closed her eyes, countless images would appear in her mind's eye. Some of those images were very clear but most of them were blurred.

Satsuki was hit with another wave of intense pain and with it came an image of her kneeling in front of someone. That person was a girl with violet-coloured hair that was layered and pink eyes. The Satsuki in the picture was touching the girl's forehead with her palm, as if checking if the girl had a fever or not.

Suddenly, the image was replaced by another clearer image. In this picture, Satsuki was kneeling in front of the violet-haired girl with blood flowing from her stomach and a sword impaled into her thigh.

Satsuki opened her eyes and the images were immediately replaced by the view of Orihime's bathroom. She stood up and stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't possibly be a shinigami. All her life, she was able to see spirits and have encountered hollows several times, but each time it was Rukia who did the exorcising, not her. Rukia was the one with the powers, not her. The images aren't real, Satsuki thought determinedly. Satsuki quickly splashed her face with cold water to chase away the last remnants of her headache.

When she looked up again, she saw someone standing behind her. The girl had black, shoulder-length hair, black eyes so dark that it didn't seem to reflect anything. She wore a black Yukata and, in contrast to the black, the young girl wore a white obi and had milky-white skin. The girl's mouth was moving and her eyes pleading, but Satsuki couldn't hear what the girl was saying.

Satsuki frowned and strained her ears but all she could hear was the sound of water rushing out of the tap. Frustrated, Satsuki turned the tap off and turned around to face the girl. But the girl wasn't there anymore. What the hell? Satsuki thought, I only looked away for a split second, how did she manage to get away?

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise from the door.

"Satsuki, are you alright? You've been in there for ages. Open the door or we'll go home without you," Rukia shouted from the other side of the door while still banging on the wooden door.

How did the girl get in here if the door was locked? Satsuki thought to herself. This day was getting weirder and weirder. First Ichigo and his friends were accusing her of performing Soul Burial then, there was the massive headache and strange images and now the mysterious girl entering and leaving a locked room! Satsuki rubbed her head tiredly and went to open the door.

Rukia stared at Satsuki, shocked. "Are you ok? You're as pale as a ghost!"

Satsuki just nodded, "I'm just tired. You said we were going home…?"

The two girls went back to the living room to find that everyone had already gathered their things and were walking to the entrance. They each said their goodbyes and headed home.

...

Rukia snuggled up in her futon and stared at the roof. Satsuki was already asleep in the next room. Rukia turned her head to stare out the window. The moon was half obscured by clouds and there wasn't a star in sight, but Rukia changed her mind nonetheless. Maybe I was just paranoid and there isn't really a storm coming, Rukia thought as she drifted off to sleep.

She should've known better than to ignore her instincts.

* * *

End note: I'm thinking of changing the title of this story... 'New Girl,' I have no idea what i was thinking then. Such a bad and boring title...Anyways, should I change the title? I can't think of a good one at the moment... If you've got any ideas please help this poor amateur fanfic writer in need... ^^


	9. Time is slowly running out

A/N: Phew.. Another crazy week full of exams. . Didnt have any time to write what-so-ever so i had to write this chapter in one day. And yes, with the help of MsMifuyu, I have finally come up with an awesome new fanfic title~ 'Akuma no Tsubasa,' for those who don't know what it means, it is japanese for Devil's Wings. Anyway, enough talking from me, enjoy! =D

* * *

Chapter 9 – Time is slowly running out

"Are you sure it is safe talking about this here? What if Satsuki-chan hears us?" Orihime said, looking around worriedly. It was lunch time at Karakura High School and she, Rukia, Ichigo, Ishida and Chad were on the roof thinking up plans to make Satsuki remember.

"Don't worry. She told me she was going to buy something from the school canteen." Rukia dismissed Orihime's concerns. "Now, what was I saying again?"

"Already starting to forget stuff… That's the first sign of growing old, you know, Rukia." Ichigo said. Rukia glared at him while preparing to throw her juice box at him.

"You said that we needed to think up a plan to help Satsuki regain her memories…?" Ishida quickly said before Rukia and Ichigo started a fight.

Rukia lowered her hand and nodded, "If we mention her accessories, she might remember something. After all, she got all those stuff from Soul Society." The other 4 teenagers nodded determinedly. Rukia was secretly glad that she had friends like them and allowed herself a small smile as she continued to talk, "Let's split up the tasks. Orihime, you talk to Satsuki about her earring. Oh and also mention the pink ribbon she has in her hair. Ishida you take care of her necklace. Chad, talk about her fake past, something to do with her late parents, please. And Ichigo, tell her about your job as a substitute shinigami."

"What about you? Or are you too old to do anything now?" Ichigo was still carrying on with that 'getting old' business and this time, the Rukia's juice box made contact with his head, causing a slight bruise. Ichigo caught the popper and threw it back at Rukia. The female shinigami caught it skilfully and stuck her tongue out at Ichigo.

Their childish quarrel was suddenly interrupted by a door opening and closing. They all looked over to see Satsuki walk towards them, happily waving a yakisoba bread in the air. "After coming to this school for more 2 weeks I have finally obtained the legendary yakisoba bread of Karakura High~" Satsuki danced around happily for a while, then realised that the other 5 were staring at her weirdly.

"What? What's wrong with being happy about this? Stop looking at me like that!" Satsuki said, pouting. She sat down and started eating her lunch, her happy mood replaced by a grumpy one.

Rukia rubbed her forehead. Was this really the female captain of division 3?

Upon see Rukia doing that action, Ichigo said, "You have no right to do that you know. You weren't much different when you first learnt how to drink from a popper."

Rukia gave him a glare that said, 'Shut up.'

Feeling the atmosphere heat up again, Orihime tugged on Rukia's sleeve and said quietly, "Rukia, Satsuki-chan doesn't have the pink ribbon you mentioned earlier."

"What?" Rukia turned to take a better look at Satsuki as she said, "How could this be? She always wears that ribbon in her hair…" Her voice faltered when she saw that Satsuki had her hair down and the ribbon was nowhere in sight. "Satsuki, where is the pink ribbon?"

"Hmm, what pink ribbon?"

"The one you always tie your hair with or keep around your neck."

"Come on, Rukia, you know me long enough to know that I never tie my hair up. I've never owned pink strips of ribbon before."

"No way…. But the pink ribbon…"

"Rukia, seriously stop joking around. Why would I possibly want a stupid piece of ribbon for?" Satsuki said crossly. She scrunched up the yakisoba bread wrapping and aimed it at the bin. "Score!" Satsuki cheered happily when the piece of rubbish landed in the bin. Her aim was impeccable as always.

'Stupid'? How could she…Dammit! Rukia thought as her vision blurred. She mustn't cry, not here anyway. "Just skip the ribbon for now, ask her about her earring and tell me her reactions in detail later." She muttered to Orihime. Rukia hastily stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ichigo shouted after her.

A wave from her hand was Rukia's only answer.

Ichigo looked at the confused expressions on his classmates' faces and decided to chase after her.

After seeing Ichigo run after Rukia, Orihime turned to Satsuki and while attempting to sound casual, she said, "That's a very pretty earring, Satsuki-chan. Where did you get it from?"

Satsuki reached up and touched the earring, "It is isn't it? It was a birthday present from my Ba-chan. I love the colour blue."

"Your Oba-san must be awesome," Orihime smiled.

"What about that necklace?" Ishida asked and pointed at the wing-shaped pendant.

Satsuki's face fell and she mumbled, "It was from my late Kaa-sama."

"I'm sorry," the three teenagers said simultaneously.

Surprised, Satsuki quickly waved her hand and smiled, "It's nothing, it happened 50 years ago anyway."

"50?" Chad repeated.

"Eh? I said that? I meant 5 years, my bad," Satsuki hit her head with her fist and embarrassingly. What the heck am I saying? Satsuki scolded herself in her head.

"You said you parents died because of a car accident…?" Chad said quietly. Rukia was right in choosing Chad, the gentle giant, to talk about Satsuki's parents.

"Yea, I was at school at that time. My parents were out on a mission and they got into a car crash when they were chasing the villain."

"Mission? Villain?" Orihime asked confused.

"Didn't I tell you guys? My parents were police. Oh and my Ba-chan and Ji-chan are also working as police. They got transferred so they had to do a bit of travelling," Satsuki said proudly.

Police… police… Ishida widened his eyes. Police = Gotei 13! Since Ichigo has ran off to God knows where, we might as well do his job for him. Ishida thought. The other two seemed to be thinking the same.

"You know, the Gotei 13 in Soul Society is like the police in the Human World." Ishida said.

"You're right. And the Hollows are like the villains. Looks like both worlds have the same concept." Satsuki smiled. "It would be so cool if my parents or my Ba-chan or Ji-chan were Shinigami…"

"Ichigo is a shinigami, too. He's very strong as well," Orihime said cheerfully.

"He is strong, but if the Human World had policemen like him, the population of Earth would be decreased by half within a month."

"Very true, Kurosaki doesn't use his head most of the time and when he does, he makes very stupid decisions." Ishida smirked and shook his head.

"Ne, Satsuki-chan, if you had shinigami powers, what would your zanpakutou's powers be?"

"I don't want one, Orihime-chan. Sure, it's cool if you're related to or know someone who is a shinigami but if I actually became one… I would be devastated," Satsuki said, still smiling. But the other three's happy faces had gone, replaced by one of confusion.

The three teenagers remembered the scene in the past where Satsuki had told Leila that she didn't like her strength. But back then, the teenagers had thought Satsuki didn't mean it and was only saying it to make Leila give up on getting a zanpakutou.

"What's with those long faces, huh? I don't like fighting. Don't you think it is harsh to kill hollows? I mean, they didn't do anything wrong, they're just following their natural instincts." Satsuki shrugged.

"But what about the pluses they have eaten? Who would seek revenge for them?" Ishida asked.

"Firstly, getting revenge is probably the worst thing you could do during your life. Whoever said revenge is sweet was wrong. Revenge only brings more despair." Satsuki crossed her arms and said furiously.

The three humans looked at one another. Wasn't this supposed to be 'help Satsuki regain her memory' time? Now was not the time to be having this debate.

"How do you know getting revenge is a bad thing, Yamane-san?" Ishida asked. How would Satsuki react to this question? Now that they have realised police is another word for shinigami and villain stands for hollows, they were finally getting somewhere.

"I went after the villains by myself. But with no training what-so-ever, I failed and ended up having to be saved by other members of the police force. Because of my stupid actions, many got hurt. Even Ji-chan, who hated fighting, had to fight against the villains as well."

In the three teenagers mind, they got an overview of what really happened. When Satsuki's parents died, she went after the hollows. But still being a trainee shinigami, she got into deep trouble and had to be saved by the Gotei 13. Ishida nodded at the result. That was probably when Satsuki had started to hate fighting. But then why did Satsuki become a captain? The timing is wrong too. The incident between her and the hollows happened 50 years ago and she only became a captain around 4 months ago. So what made her change her mind about joining the Gotei 13?

"Ugh," Satsuki groaned suddenly and clutched at her head. The migraine was starting again and it was driving her nuts. How many headaches has she had since she came to Karakura 14 days ago? 5? 6? "I'm going to the nurse's office," Satsuki muttered as she headed for the door, still clutching her head.

"I hope she's going to be ok. This is the 4th time this week. That's almost one visit to the nurse's office a day." Orihime stared at the door worriedly.

"Don't worry about her," Ishida replied calmly.

"Eh? Why?"

"Common symptoms when regaining one's lost memories are headaches."

...

Ichigo tutted as he tried to chase up to the figure in front of him. "Hey! If you don't stop this now, people are gonna notice us!"

"Then stop following me," Rukia's voice was muffled as the covered her mouth with her palm. But she still didn't stop.

Ichigo looked below him. He was really glad 5th period had started because that meant there'll be a less chance of people spotting them. It had been around 10 minutes since the chase between Rukia and him have started. "Stop using Shunpo. Oi, do you hear me, woman?" Ichigo shouted, getting irritated, "STOP!"

Rukia looked coldly over her shoulder at Ichigo.

Was it my imagination, or were her eyes red? Ichigo thought, his pace slowing down. He stopped on a nearby roof and watched as Rukia used Shunpo to get away from him. What could possibly upset her so much? It was only a ribbon. Ichigo felt lost in the world of girl's emotions. Ichigo hit his fist against his palm and said to himself, "Maybe Rukia gave Satsuki the ribbon and she is upset that she isn't using it. Aha, I'm so smart." And with that, Ichigo gathered his strength and reached Rukia's side in one step.

"Hey. You don't have to be that upset. Yuzu and Karin hardly ever use the presents I give them, so don't worry," Ichigo said as he grabbed Rukia's wrist. Surprisingly, Rukia didn't resist so Ichigo led the both of them to a nearby roof. They were at least 6Km away from the school and exhaustion was showing on both their faces.

Rukia pulled her wrist out of Ichigo's grasp. Rubbing her sore wrist Rukia said, "You're sprouting nonsense, Ichigo. You don't know anything, so keep your mouth shut."

"Who's the one who won't explain the situation to me?" Ichigo said angrily.

"I don't feel the need to explain anything to you." Rukia huffed and turned to go.

"Hey, wait. Why do you have to make this so hard? Just a simple sentence, I'll even start it for you. "I am unhappy and on the verge of crying because…'" Ichigo turned Rukia round to face him and widened his eyes when he saw Rukia's face.

It was the first time Ichigo saw Rukia let her tears fall freely. Her eyes were a bit swollen so it was obvious she was crying ever since she saw Satsuki without the pink ribbon. Ichigo reached to wipe a tear away from Rukia cheek but she slapped his hand away. Her face turned light pink and she turned away from Ichigo. Rukia stared at her surroundings as she leaned on the safety fence surrounding the edges of the roof.

"The ribbon was from my Nii-sama. The pink, silk ribbon had patterns woven into it. He made the master weaver, Tsujishirou Kuroemon III, make it especially for Satsuki. Back then, Satsuki often complained that she was sick of black. It was her family colour so all her clothes were that colour. Satsuki hardly ever gets to wear any other colour and she yearned to wear pink because it was the colour of Nii-sama's Senbonzakura." It took Ichigo a moment to realise Rukia was finally explaining the reason behind her sadness. Rukia's voice was strained as she tried to not cry.

"Nii-sama gave her that present around 40 years ago. She smiled when she saw the ribbon; it was her first smile since her parents died. That time, Nii-sama had smiled too. According to the maids in the Kuchiki Manor, it was the first time Nii-sama had smiled ever since Hisana Nee-sama had died. Everyone was so shocked. The North and South Poles were finally melting," Rukia let out a small chuckle.

"Apparently, Satsuki's parents died in the same year Hisana Nee-sama died. So the ribbon symbolized the day the both of them came out of their mourning. Satsuki had promised that she would always keep the ribbon on her at all times. She promised Nii-sama that she would never forget about the ribbon. But today…The ribbon wasn't on her. Of all the things to forget, why did it have to be the ribbon; why the promise between her and Nii-sama?" Rukia's voice quavered and her shoulders shook.

Ichigo walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey…Now isn't the time to be like this. We've got problems to solve, enemies to fight, right?" Ichigo hated his tone, it sounded so fake.

Rukia groaned and rested her head on her hands. They remained in a comfortable silence for what seemed like hours. Suddenly, a beeping sound started coming from Rukia's pocket.

"Hollow?" Ichigo asked. His palm was already wrapped around his Shinigami Substitute Badge.

Rukia took out her Denreishinki with her right hand while simultaneously wiping tears away from her face with her left hand. She stared at the screen for a good 2 minuted before she turned to Ichigo and said, "I totally forgot about this. What should I do?" While Rukia started to panic Ichigo grabbed the phone off her and looked at the screen.

To: Rukia Kuchiki

From: Genryuusai Yamamoto

Content: As promised, I gave you 30 days to sort out this problem by yourself, Rukia Kuchiki. Unfortunately, it seems you have not succeeded in this mission so, as I have said to you previously, I will be sending Captain Byakuya Kuchiki to the Human World along with Ulquiorra Cifer, who is also due to return to his post in the Human World today. When those two youngsters arrive, an additional 30 days will be added for you to solve Captain Satsuki Yamane's predicament. If you fail to do so, Captain Satsuki Yamane will be brought back to Soul Society to undergo procedures from division 12 and/or division 4. Even I cannot keep this problem a secret any longer. The shinigami from division 3 are starting to wonder where their captain has gone to.

"You never told us about a time limit," Ichigo said, giving back Rukia her phone.

"I forgot." Rukia admitted miserably, she sighed and said, "I don't know whether I should be happy or not. Nii-sama coming to the Human World both helps and complicates the situation. He would not be very happy to know that Satsuki has forgotten about the pink ribbon."

"We need all the help we can get," Ichigo said quietly. He can't even begin to imagine what the people at division 12 would do to Satsuki.

Rukia sighed heavily again, this was becoming a bad habit, "Either way, we must inform the other's about this." Rukia checked the time on her phone. "Shoot. School's out for today. We completely missed out on the last 2 periods."

The two of them used Shunpo all the way back to the school.


	10. Visitors

A/N: I was more organised this week so I didn't have to post at 11 at night. ^^ This week was very relaxing because all my exams were over~ Hooray for me =P We aren't doing any work in class so I get to work on my fanfic even during school hours. I just love the end of the year.  
Btw, have you seen Harry Potter yet? I have! =D All I can say is... It's totally awesome!

* * *

Chapter 10 – Visitors

"I can't believe you two skipped the last 2 periods," Satsuki huffed, walking backwards so that she was facing Rukia and Ichigo.

"You skipped the second last period," Ichigo pointed out.

Satsuki crossed her arms, "That was because I was in pain and had to rest in the sick bay."

Well, guess what? Rukia was in pain too and needed time away from you, you ignorant girl! Ichigo wanted to shout at Satsuki.

"Is your headache gone now?" Rukia asked Satsuki. Rukia had skilfully applied make-up to cover up her red nose and puffy eyes.

"I can manage," Satsuki replied and started staring at Orihime.

The long-haired girl was humming happily to herself and twirling around. Every time she bumped into someone, she would laugh and apologise to the stranger, unbothered by the fact that other people were thinking she was a retard.

"What are you so happy about?" Satsuki asked curiously, walking up to Orihime.

Orihime didn't answer; instead, she grabbed Satsuki's hands and continued to spin around, forcing Satsuki to do so too. Orihime kept on dancing until they reached a bench. Satsuki sat down on the seat heavily and held her head, groaning.

"Oh my, I completely forgot about your headache. I'm so sorry!" Orihime said, "I'm just sooooo happy!"

"I can tell," Satsuki muttered, still clutching her head.

Rukia came to them and sat down next to Satsuki. "Ulquiorra Cifer and my elder brother are coming to the Human World today." Rukia said happily.

Satsuki looked at the boys and realised they already knew about the news, "How come only I don't know about the news?"

"Because you're deaf," Ichigo said matter-of-factly.

Satsuki ignored him and said to Rukia, "We must hold a party to welcome them!"

"I don't think they are the type to party…" Rukia said hesitantly. "Ulquiorra was the 4th Espada.

"Oh, _that_ Espada, didn't you say he was an em-" Rukia quickly covered Satsuki's mouth and said, "We should have a feast instead of a party."

"Yea, we can hold it at our house." Satsuki said excitedly, "We can have a BBQ. Let's go to the shops now!" She stood up but after a second, sat back down again, holding her head and groaning.

"Uh… Maybe we should go to the shops. You go home and rest," Rukia said, patting Satsuki's shoulder.

Satsuki mumbled in agreement and said goodbye to the others, her tone apologetic. Rukia watched Satsuki walk away and turned to Orihime and the others, "Where should we go first?"

...

About an hour later, Rukia and the teenagers stepped out of the grocery shop. They had already visited five shops in that time and everyone was tired from the shopping.

Rukia and Orihime, who were leading the group, held nothing but their school bags. The boys, however, held four bags of groceries each.

"Why do we need so much food?" Ichigo complained.

"It's a feast, duh," Rukia rolled her eyes.

"There are going to be a lot of leftovers," Ishida observed.

"Then we can keep eating at Rukia's place until the food's all gone," Orihime replied, somehow still in high spirits. She looked around for a while and suddenly pointed at another shop. "We completely forgot about drinks. Let's go, Rukia." Orihime started dragging Rukia toward the convenience store.

Seeing the two girls pile battle after bottle of soft drink into the shopping basket, all three of the boys groaned in unison. It was going to be a long afternoon.

...

Satsuki opened her eyes and sat up. After a few seconds, she realised she was in a dark place. There were no lights, but she can somehow still see. Satsuki stood up slowly. How the hell did I get here? Satsuki thought. Did I sleep so long that its night already?

She continued to look around, but it looked nothing like her bedroom. There was no furniture, no walls, no ceiling. Only a vast space filled with pure darkness.

She started to panic. "Hello?" She said hesitantly. Her voice seemed unnaturally loud in this eerily quiet place and her voice echoed. She walked forward tentatively; scared she might trip on something.

She kept on walking for about five minutes, but the scenery still didn't change. She sat back down and closed her eyes, covering her face with her shaking hands. This has got to be a dream.

A few moments later, Satsuki felt a light tap on her shoulder. "Rukia," she asked hopefully and looked up.

To her disappointment, the person who tapped her shoulder wasn't Rukia. Instead, it was a girl with long, black hair and wore a black kimono.

"You're the girl who appeared in the bathroom," Satsuki realised.

The girl nodded, and then her mouth started moving a mile an hour.

"I can't hear you," the same thing is happening again. As much as Satsuki wanted to, she couldn't hear a single sound come from the girl's mouth.

Satsuki stood up and she saw that the girl was more than a head taller than her. She must be at least 2 metres tall, Satsuki thought in awe.

"I've got an idea; why don't you write on a piece of paper or something."

The girl shook her head and held out her hands. She had long, pale fingers with abnormally black fingernails. Her fingernails were also unnaturally sharp and sent a chill down Satsuki's back. She could easily imagine this girl defacing a girl in a catfight.

"No paper or pen handy… I'm not surprised; this place is as bare as a bone." Satsuki kept on looking at her surroundings. She still doesn't get why she can see without any lights.

The girl stared at Satsuki, deep in thought, but somehow Satsuki didn't mind. Even though this was only the second time they have met, Satsuki felt a sense of familiarity toward her.

The girl started speaking again and Satsuki heard her name being called. At first, she thought the girl was the one saying her name. But then she quickly realised she wasn't. The girl's lips were moving too fast and didn't seem to form the word 'Satsuki.' The voice was coming from somewhere else.

Satsuki did a 360, but still couldn't find the source of the sound. She took a step forward, in case the person saying her name was farther away. But before she could take another step, she was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder from behind.

"What," Satsuki said in surprise and looked behind her to see the mysterious girl shake her head frantically. As she did so, drops of tears fell from her eyes. 'Stay,' the girl kept on mouthing and Satsuki saw that the girl's tears were gone, replaced by a determined expression.

Satsuki felt her shoulders being shook violently, but it wasn't the girl shaking her. What the hell if happening? Satsuki thought wildly to herself.

The girl and the surrounding environment slowly faded away and were replaced by the view of the white ceiling of her bedroom. Satsuki slowly sat up. She was back inside her bed, she realised. I knew it; it was a dream after all. Satsuki thought happily to herself.

She looked to her left side and out the window, the sky was dyed a bright pink by the setting sun. Her clock, which was on her bedside table, informed her that it was currently 5:38 in the afternoon.

Better start preparing for the feast, Rukia and the others would probably be here any minute now, Satsuki thought and rubbed her eyes. She removed the covers and climbed off her bed. She turned around to make her bed and, to her utter surprise, saw a girl sitting on top of her desk.

The girl had layered shoulder-length hair that was violet-coloured and had baby-pink eyes. She wore a strapless, white dress that reached just past her knees with white slip on shoes. Her attires were all black-trimmed. On her head was a white pair of teeth that acted like a headband.

"Hello, Satsuki Hime-sama," Leila drawled and gave Satsuki a cold smile.

...

What are you staring at, Orihime?" Rukia asked as she took the house keys out.

"I think I just saw a flash of violet in Satsuki's room," she replied.

Rukia laughed softly as she unlocked the door, "Satsuki doesn't own anything violet. You must be seeing things."

Orihime frowned but soon cheered up again as Rukia led them past the living room and into the kitchen.

Rukia motioned to the boys to put the groceries on the kitchen bench-top.

"You seriously owe me one," Ichigo said to Rukia as her put the bags down and flexed his arms.

"You should be thankful that I'm cooking for you," Rukia said without looking at him.

"You're not cooking. We are having a BBQ."

"Well I am preparing the ingredients, aren't I?"

"Che, anyone can do that job."

Rukia turned and pointed a capsicum at Ichigo, "You prepare the ingredients, then."

"Don't mind if I do," Ichigo pulled out a cucumber and tapped it lightly on Rukia's head. Rukia responded by using her capsicum to flick the cucumber away. The two proceeded to have a mini sword…uh…vegetable fight.

Ishida stood in the doorway, staring at the two with raised eyebrows. He coughed loudly and the two turned to look at him. "The guests are here," Ishida said while trying not to laugh.

Orihime squealed happily and ran out of the kitchen and into the living room with Rukia following close behind with an anxious smile on her face.

The Senkaimon was just opening as Orihime and Rukia ran into the living room. Ulquiorra was the first to step out of the Senkaimon. He looked around, his hands deep in his pockets and his face devoid of emotion.

"Ulquiorra," Orihime squeaked. The black-haired boy turned to look at the hyperactive Orihime. She squealed again and threw herself at Ulquiorra, who smiled and patted Orihime's head. Ever since he and Orihime have started dating, he had been smiling more so Rukia and the others weren't the least bit surprised.

While Ulquiorra and Orihime were acting all lovey-dovey, Byakuya had stepped out of the Senkaimon and closed it.

Rukia bowed slightly to Byakuya when she saw him.

"Where is Satsuki?" His eyes flickered from side to side, searching.

"She is in her room resting," Rukia didn't seem offended by Byakuya's lack of enthusiasm toward seeing her again. "Nii-sama… Satsuki ha-"

"I told you not to make a habit of addressing her by her name," Byakuya said sharply.

"Sorry… Satsuki Nee-chan has forgotten about the ribbon you gave her," Rukia looked toward her brother's face, anticipating angry emotions from him.

"It's ok."

"What?" Rukia's eyes widened at her brother's lack of emotion.

"I said don't worry about it, don't make me repeat myself again," Byakuya said simply and walked past her to say something to Ulquiorra, who was still hugging Orihime.

Ichigo patted Rukia's shoulder, "You ok?" He asked worriedly.

Rukia brushed Ichigo's hand away and headed toward the stairs. "I'll live." Looks like the pink ribbon isn't as important as I thought, Rukia thought sadly.

...

"W…Who are you?" Satsuki asked the girl in front of her. This girl was in the images I keep seeing, Satsuki thought.

Leila kept on talking as if Satsuki hadn't said anything, "Life is boring without any challenges. I've spent the last month seeing my plan run smoothly, so smoothly that it drove me nuts. What happened to all the action? I snuck into the Human World two weeks ago, and you know what? I found your reiatsu!"

Satsuki stared at Leila. Who the hell was this girl and why is she saying all this stuff to me?

"I've been observing you these past few days and I have come to realise that even though you didn't die, you have lost your memories."

Ah, so she's a stalker and a lunatic… Satsuki moved away from Leila, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh, don't be like that. I came here today for a reason and that reason isn't to come scare you. I'm here to give you an opportunity."

"…Opportunity?"

"Yup, to remember," Leila laughed at Satsuki's bewilderment.

"Huh?"

"I'm giving you a chance to remember your memories, dummy, so that you can make my life more interesting once more. After all, you were the one who gave me these beautiful powers." Something fanned out behind Leila and Satsuki saw it was a set of white wings.

A wave of uncertainty washed over Satsuki as Leila slowly stepped toward her.

* * *

End note: There were many unexpected events in this chapter, right? Don't you think Orihime and Ulquiorra make a cute couple? I'm wondering if I should put in more couple scenes...  
Heads up to those who care, I am going to update a bit earlier next week, maybe on Thursday or Friday, because I will be on a plane all day next Saturday and won't have time to update. To be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure if I will have access to the internet overseas. A whole month or so without internet... *Shudders*...  
Anyway, please continue to support me and if you have any tips or ideas or anything, please tell me. =D


	11. A peaceful dinner

A/N: Hello ^^ This week was another working-on-fanfic-during-school-hours week. So I finished this chapter surprisingly quickly =P As promised, I have updated early. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11 – A peaceful dinner

"Wait…Uh…"

"Leila."

"Yea, wait, Leila-san, you said I gave you these powers?" Satsuki asked while stepping back. Her back touched the wall. Shoot, nowhere to run, Satsuki cursed in her mind.

"Yes and in return, I'll do you a favour and give you your lost memories back." Leila beat her wings once to show off.

Satsuki frowned at the sight of Leila's wings. Her wings were a bit tattered, slightly frayed at the bottom, like old fabric. The wings are very unsightly, with a murky white colour and feathers that look very dry and unkempt, unlike the wings I have. Satsuki thought and widened her eyes. What the...'the wings I have'…? What is wrong with me? I've been saying weird things all day. Satsuki shook her head violently to clear her head.

Leila laughed and pointed at Satsuki, "The facial expression you just made was priceless." Still giggling, she plucked a feather off her wings and held it out to Satsuki.

The feather was ragged and resembled a brownish colour rather than white. "Just hold this feather for a while and you're memories will come back," Leila said after mumbling to herself.

Satsuki stared at her and then the feather suspiciously.

"Oh, come on. This is a once in a lifetime chance! Don't you want to know why you're having headaches and strange thoughts all the time?"

Don't trust her, a voice in her head warned. But Satsuki dismissed the warning. She was tempted by the offer. She wanted to know the reason behind the secretive conversations Rukia and the others were having all the time. She wanted to know why Rukia kept looking at Satsuki with a wistful expression on her face every time she thought Satsuki wasn't looking. Most of all, she wanted to know why she kept seeing weird images and having thoughts that never makes sense.

Satsuki help out her hand to grab the feather on Leila's hand.

Leila smiled triumphantly as she watched Satsuki reach for the feather. I've never seen anyone as gullible as you, Leila sneered in her head.

Just as Satsuki was going to touch the feather, Leila was suddenly knocked aside. Satsuki, surprised by the abrupt turn of events, sat back on her bed and stared at the scene in front of her.

Leila was held against the wall by her throat by a girl in black clothes.

It's the strange girl again, Satsuki realised, astonished.

"Can't…breathe…" Leila chocked out, feebly hitting the black-haired girl's hand.

But the girl didn't let go, instead her grip tightened and Leila's face started to change colour from lack of oxygen.

"S…stop it," Satsuki yelled. Oh my God! Satsuki screamed in her head. What the heck is happening here, seriously? Someone wake me up from this nightmare!

There was a small knock from the door and Rukia poked her head into Satsuki's room.

"Is everything ok?" Rukia raised her eyebrows at Satsuki's dishevelled form.

Shakily, Satsuki pointed to the wall opposite her. Rukia looked at the direction Satsuki was pointing to.

"Uh…. There's nothing there," Rukia said, frowning.

"Say what?" Satsuki breathed and looked at the wall. The two girls were gone. Satsuki groaned and ran her hand through her long, wavy hair. She laughed forcefully, "My bad, I was still half asleep."

Rukia shook her head helplessly, "Dinner is starting soon, and my elder brother and Ulquiorra are here."

"They are here already?" Satsuki looked at the clock; it showed 6:03 p.m. "I'll be down in a sec."

"'Kay," with that, Rukia disappeared back downstairs.

Satsuki sighed heavily. You shouldn't trust people that easily, a voice rang out in her head. Shut up, she yelled at the voice, leave me alone. Satsuki rubbed her face, annoyed.

...

Ten minutes later, Satsuki emerged from her room with freshly applied make-up and wore a pink tank top accompanied by a cute, black mini-skirt. She stood in the doorway that led to the dining room. Sitting around the circular oak table were Rukia and the students from Karakura High and two strangers.

They must be Ulquiorra Cifer and Byakuya Kuchiki, Satsuki thought, but which is which? She turned to Rukia for help.

Smiling, Rukia pointed to Ulquiorra, who was sitting between Byakuya and Orihime, "This person is Ulquiorra Cifer, the 4th Espada and also Orihime-chan's boyfriend."

"Eh? You never told me you had a boyfriend," Satsuki said to Orihime, who blushed and hid her face in Ulquiorra's shoulder. Ulquiorra nodded to Satsuki in acknowledgement.

"This is my elder brother, Byakuya Kuchiki," Rukia gestured to the man beside Ulquiorra.

The elder Kuchiki looked at Satsuki with a blank expression but his eyes showed quiet anticipation.

"My name is Satsuki Yamane. Pleased to meet you, Kuchiki-san. I have heard many great things about you from Ru-chan." Satsuki held out her hand and smiled politely.

Byakuya nodded and shook Satsuki's hand, still having a blank expression. But Rukia saw that Byakuya's eyes showed disappointment and sadness. She knew Byakuya was going through a lot of pain and longed to share it his sorrow, but the Kuchikis are strong people; she would not allow herself to damage his pride.

There was only one free space left at the table, so Satsuki ended up sitting between the Kuchiki siblings.

"Rukia," Satsuki said halfway through the meal.

"Yes?"

"Is it alright to be like this?"

"What do you mean?" Rukia looked at Satsuki, surprised by such a peculiar question.

"I mean, aren't you here on a mission? Are you sure it's ok to spend the time like this?"

"Oh…uh…the need for me to take action hasn't come yet."

"Oh…" Satsuki nodded slowly. She stared at the moon outside.

There were glass doors in the dining room that led to the veranda and backyard. They were originally going to have a BBQ outside but Orihime complained about bugs so they had no choice but to hold the BBQ indoors.

Should I tell Rukia about the two girls that were in my room before? Satsuki thought as she chewed her food. Would she believe me? She recalled the scene where the black-haired girl was holding the violet-haired girl by her throat. The black-haired girl must be the enemy; she used sch violent ways to stop Leila-san from giving me my memories back. But Leila-san was quite suspicious too. Satsuki thought of Leila's smile and shuddered internally. She was so freaking creepy… Next time I see those two, I'm gonna sprint away in the opposite direction. Satsuki decided.

"Tsuki…Satsuki!"

Satsuki's train of thought was broken by being shaken vigorously on the shoulder and Rukia's voice shouting her name.

"What's wrong?" Satsuki looked at Rukia's worried face.

"I should be the one asking that. You've been spacing out for ages now," Rukia huffed. Everyone at the table was staring at the duo. Satsuki laughed, "I was just lost in thought, is all."

Everyone still kept on looking at her.

"Seriously, don't mind me. Ah, look, the food's getting cold." Satsuki looked at the barbeque stove and piled meat upon meat on the cooking device.

The delicious smell of food made everyone stop staring at Satsuki and return to their mean and the room was soon filled up with happy chatting once again.

Except one.

Satsuki turned to her right and looked at Byakuya questioningly. After a while, he gave her a small smile and continued eating. Satsuki also returned to her meal, mulling over Byakuya's strange attitude and for some reason, she was feeling a bit self-conscious.

Ichigo, who was sitting next to Rukia, nudged Ichida in the ribs and said, without taking his widened eyes off the elder Kuchiki, "Did you see that?"

"Yea, he smiled; actually smiled!" Ishida kept his voice low but he couldn't contain his excitement and surprise. Chad nodded his head but didn't say anything.

The three boys continued to glance at Byakuya occasionally, in case he smiled again.

Curious, Orihime leaned in, "Why do you guys keep looking at Kuchiki-san?"

"Is it that obvious?" Ichigo looked at Orihime, half-way through chewing. Looks like his acting normal skills haven't improved.

"…A bit. So, what's got you three curious?"

"The elder Kuchiki smiled at Satsuki-san," Chad said quietly to her.

"What…Did you just say, 'the elder Kuchiki smiled at Satsuki-chan'?"

"Yea," the three boys replied at the same time.

"I think you guys have drunk too much coke."

"You can't get drunk from coke, Inoue-san." Ishida said.

"But you can get high on it."

"Orihime, Byakuya Taichou is also capable of smiling, see, he is doing it again." Ulquiorra said calmly and gestured to Byakuya with his head.

All four turned their heads in unison. They saw that Byakuya and Satsuki were having a conversation. Even though they can't hear the conversation, they could tell it was a pleasant one. Every now and then, Byakuya would give a small smile.

"Wow…its true…" Orihime whispered.

"See, looks like he really is human," Ichigo said, still staring at the duo.

"It is rude to stare," Rukia said sharply.

All of them cleared their throats and sat up straight. In an attempt to act normal, all of them reached out, picked up a piece of meat and put it in their mouths.

Satsuki raised an eyebrow, "Synchronised eating…?"

Byakuya smiled while shaking his head which attracted more shocked looks from Ichigo and the others.

An hour later, everyone in the room was doing their fair share of cleaning up.

"We used a lot of plates considering there are only eight of us." Satsuki stared at the three large stacks of plates and bowls next to the kitchen sink. Satsuki sighed as she got ready to wash them. Just seeing the dished made her feel tired already.

"I can wash them if you like," Ishida volunteered.

"Really? You are a saviour, Ishida-kun," Satsuki exclaimed happily.

Suddenly, various noises started playing from three different parts of the dining room. Satsuki and Ishida rushed into the room to find Rukia, Byakuya and Ulquiorra pulling out their Denreishinki. The relaxed atmosphere was replaced by one full of tension.

"Is it a hollow?" Satsuki looked at Rukia.

Rukia shook her head as she passed her phone to Ichigo, "Worse than that."

"Uh...is it a Menos Grande, then?"

"Nope, it's even worse than that."

Satsuki thought of other types of hollows, "Is it an Adjucha?"

"Can you stop this useless game? We don't have much time if a possibly Espada-level Arrancar is invading Karakura with who knows how many underlings," Ichigo muttered irritably while swallowing a Soul Candy.

"Nee-san!" Ichigo ran toward Rukia, who kicked him in the stomach.

Satsuki looked at Ichigo, lying on the ground and groaning in pain, and then looked up and saw another Ichigo, who was wearing a shinigami uniform and carrying a giant sword. She then turned to Rukia with a very confused expression.

Rukia sighed and smiled helplessly. She pointed at the shinigami-uniform-wearing Ichigo, "that is the real Ichigo.' She pointed at the Ichigo lying on the floor, 'And that is Kon. He's a Mod-soul who takes care of Ichigo's body and replaces him when he is out fighting."

"Well, he's not doing a very good job at taking care of Ichigo's body."

"Kon was a defective product."

"Hey, I'm not defective!" Kon said defensively while standing up. He took one look at Satsuki, who was leaning against the wall, and ran full-speed toward her shouting, "A new, beautiful girl~"

Satsuki widened her eyes at Kon's actions and held out her hangs protectively and closed her eyes.

"Gah!"

Satsuki opened her eyes and quickly realised that she was currently holding Kon against the wall by his throat. An exact replica of what the mysterious black-haired girl did to Leila.

Satsuki stepped back hastily. She covered her mouth with her hangs when she saw Kon slide down the wall in a daze.

"Satsuki," Rukia said in a small.

"I'm so sorry, Kon-san. I don't know what came over me," Satsuki, on the edge of crying, kneeled down next to Kon, who was still staring into space.

In a blink of an eye, Kon was out of his trance and had his arms wrapped tightly around Satsuki. "Hmm…not as good as Orihime-chan or Rangiku-chan, but good enough," Kon grinned, clearly in heaven.

"Chire, Senbonza-"

"No, Nii-sama, calm down! You'll ruin this place!" Rukia shouted and quickly kicked Kon's side, making him let go of Satsuki. You picked the wrong girl to pick up, you dummy! Rukia wanted to shout, but she knew that if she said this many unnecessary problems would arise.

Rukia huffed and then ate a Soul Candy. "Keep an eye on Kon for me," Rukia said to the Artificial Soul.

"Got it!" Chappy replied happily.

Standing up straight, Rukia looked at everyone in the room, "Orihime, Ishida, Chad, Kon and Chappy stay here in case someone attacks this place. Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Nii-sama and I will take care of the Arrancar."

Everyone nodded and Rukia turned to Satsuki, "We'll be back soon. Sorry about Kon's actions, he's very violence-enduring, so hit him as soon as he gets within a 3 metre radius of you, ok?"

Satsuki smiled and stood up, "It's ok. I guess its atonement for using violence."

Rukia smiled helplessly and proceeded to follow the others out the glass doors.

"Even though I don't believe that violence solves problems, good luck in defeating the enemy!" Satsuki hugged Rukia and waved goodbye to the others.

They all nodded and filed out the door. Byakuya gave Kon a 'hug Satsuki again and you die' look before stepping outside.

"I hope they're gonna be ok." Satsuki whispered, still staring at the four retreating forms in the distance.

"They'll be alright. All four of them are really, really strong. The only thing we can do is believe in them and cheer for them since we aren't good at fighting," Orihime smiled sadly. Her right hand tightened around a silver bracelet on her left wrist. Satsuki reached out and turned the largest trinket around to face her and saw that it was a silver bat with black wings.

Black wings…Satsuki thought and groaned as another migraine started. She slid down the wall and massaged her head.

"Satsuki-chan," Orihime said worriedly, "Is it another headache? Maybe you should go take a rest. We'll take care of the cleaning up."

Satsuki nodded, "Sorry about this. You guys are the guests and yet you're doing all the tidying up." She got up and walked slowly towards her room, one hand on the wall for support.

It took Satsuki five minutes to get to her room. She closed her bedroom door softly and sat down, her back leaning against the closed door and continued to massage her sore head. From the corner of her eye, she saw movement and suddenly a black-haired girl stood in front of her. Satsuki looked up, startled and her eyes zoomed in on the square object in the girl's hand.

Before Satsuki had the chance to scream, the black-haired girl had already used all her strength to knock Satsuki unconscious with Satsuki's bedside clock.

* * *

End note: I'm still not sure if I will have access to the internet overseas. If I don't get access, the next chapter won't be posted until the end of January next year . Fingers crossed!  
Btw~ have a great holiday everyone! And if I dont get to update during my time overseas, have a Merry Christmas and happy new year everyone! ^^


	12. One step closer to solving the problem

A/N: Hello everyone~ I've updated this week so that means I HAVE INTERNET XD I'm so very very happy~. How are your holidays going? Mine are great! I've been busy eating, watching asian tv, sight-seeing and, of course, writing. OK, enough talk from me. Enjoy =P

* * *

Chapter 12 – One step closer to solving the problem

"You guys are really slow, you know?" Leila said when she saw the four shinigami coming towards her. She put her hands to her hips and tapped her foot impatiently, "I thought you guys were also capable of Sonido since you are around Captain-level shinigami, looks like I thought wrong."

Ichigo looked around curiously. "I thought you said Leila was the leader of many hollows. If that is true, then where are her underlings?" He asked quietly so only Rukia could hear him.

"I can hear you, you know," Leila said in a singsong voice, "Since I'm such a kind person, I will answer your question. I'm alone because I believe I can defeat all of you by myself and also because my followers are taking care of other tasks."

"What do you mean by 'other tasks'," Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure that if you check your Denreishinki now, you will understand what I mean," Leila smiled knowingly.

As if on cue, Rukia's phone chimed. She quickly pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Upon seeing the text message, Rukia let out a small gasp, "Large hordes of hollows invaded Soul Society today. The Gotei 13 just managed to defeat them half an hour ago. Apparently, more than three-quarters of the hollows were Arrancar."

Leila smiled proudly, "I knew making new Arrancar would be easy once I got these powers." Leila twirled around once, showing off her tattered wings.

"Ugly," Ichigo said simply in a bored tone.

Leila's eyes flared, "They are not ugly. It's just that you don't know how to appreciate the beauty of these wings."

"I think you need to get your brains fixed," Ichigo retorted.

"Shut up, strawberry, I'm sick of hearing your voice," Leila said and crossed her arms.

"You don't look like you came here to fight," Rukia quickly said.

"Like I said before, I'm a very kind person. I actually came here to give you guys a chance. If you guys defeat me, I will return Satsuki's memories AND her zanpakutou power to her. This is a really rare deal," Leila smiled.

"What's the catch?" Byakuya said quietly.

"There's no catch. I just simply believe you guys can't beat me."

"Don't be so full of yourself, woman," Ichigo muttered.

"Am I?" Leila replied innocently. She plucked a feather from her wings and started fiddling with it. "Ne, Nii-san... Are you really not coming back to Hueco Mundo?" Leila asked quietly, still looking at the feather in her hands.

"I'm never going back there," Ulquiorra replied bluntly.

"What were you doing in Satsuki's room?" Byakuya said suddenly.

Leila looked at him in surprise, "How'd you know I was there? I thought I hid my reiatsu pretty well. All well, I was just saying hi to her, you don't need to be so aggressive." Leila shrugged her shoulders, "I was giving her a chance to get her memories back. She was starting to believe me but the stupid, black-kimono wearing, black-haired girl appeared and ruined everything."

"Who's the black-kimono wearing girl in question?" Rukia asked. She was in her Gigai when she went to see Satsuki, so it wasn't her. But she couldn't think of any other shinigami with black hair.

"I was going to ask you guys that. I thought she was a new member of your group," Leila frowned. Who the heck was that girl?

"You didn't really want Satsuki to remember, did you?" Byakuya observed.

Leila sighed, "It was all a lie. I said that if she held the feather, her memories would return, but the truth was that she would've died the moment she touched feather. She was a second away from dying…"

"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" Leila's voice was drowned out by Rukia's. Upon hearing Rukia's voice, Leila quickly jumped left and just missed out on getting turned into an iceblock.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Before Leila could react, Ichigo's wave of highly condensed spiritual energy came crashing toward her. She cursed as she jumped out of the way and watched as the building behind her was sliced in half. "You sly people, attacking me while I was talking," Leila huffed angrily.

"You gave us permission to kill you, so why are you complaining now?" Ichigo retorted. The other three members of the Gotei 13 all surrounded her in a blink of an eye.

Leila turned a full circle and then shrugged, "You're right, my bad. To make up to you guys, even if I win against you, I won't kill you. I can't wait to see your determined expressions turn into miserable ones." She laughed softly as she held the dirty-white feather in front of her chest, "Let me show you MY version of Satsuki's zanpakutou; Jundo no Akuma!"

...

Satsuki sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around and realised she was back to the strange darkness-filled area again. After a few moments Satsuki remembered what had happened in her room. She was in her room and suddenly the black-haired girl appeared and…

She felt a light tap on her shoulder and looked her behind her. "You," Satsuki exclaimed, pointing at the girl. She quickly moved backwards, "You attacked me!"

The girl bowed her head apologetically, "It was the only way I could think of. I wasn't sure if you would come back here. I'm sorry."

Satsuki widened her eyes, "You can talk now!"

"Yes. I took some of Leila's feathers so my power strengthened." The girl smiled.

"What you did was wrong, first you were violent to Leila-san and then you stole her feathers and after that you attacked me! You should be ashamed of yourself."

The girl sighed helplessly, "I attacked Leila because she was planning to kill you. I didn't steal Leila's feathers because they were ours in the first place. And I already explained that I knocked you out with a clock so that I can be sure you will return to this place."

"Where are the others then?"

"I'm sorry. I don't get what you mean."

"You said 'ours' so I assumed you had a partner or other comrades."

"Oh. By 'ours' I meant you and me."

"What?" Satsuki felt another headache coming. But that wasn't possible right? She was sleeping and this was a dream.

"I am your partner and you are my partner. What's so difficult to understand?" The girl sighed when she saw the confused expression on Satsuki's face.

"Maybe this will help," The girl said and started walking toward Satsuki.

"What are you doing?" Satsuki quickly moved backwards.

"Just trust me."

"How am I supposed trust you if I don't even know your name?"

The girl stopped and sighed, "My name is…"

Satsuki saw the girl's lips move but heard no sound. "Can you repeat it? I didn't quite catch it."

The girl sighed again, "It's no use. The time isn't right."

"You're not making any sense to me." Satsuki massaged her forehead.

The girl suddenly appeared beside Satsuki and quickly touched her in the forehead.

A wave of dizziness washed over Satsuki and she had to sit down, "Huh?"

"Just be quiet and watch the show. I don't have a lot of power so this will be short and to the point." The girl sat down beside her.

In Satsuki's mind she saw many images, some clear others blurred. In one of the clear images, she saw herself in a Japanese-styled mansion, being served by more than 20 people who looked like servants. In another image, she saw herself stepping into a large door with four others. On the other side of the door was Kyoto and soon after seeing the view of the city, Satsuki saw herself fighting with Leila. It seemed like she was winning but then her body suddenly froze and it was Leila's turn to have the upper hand. After a few moments of injuring Satsuki, Leila was suddenly covered in a white head-to-toe body suit. The last thing Satsuki saw was Leila stepping inside a hole in the sky and her injured self falling from the sky.

The images ended and Satsuki was finally relieved of her headache. She looked at the girl next to her with a strong sense of familiarity. Upon seeing recognition in Satsuki's eyes, the girl happily said, "You remember what happened, right, you being a shinigami and noble, getting your powers stolen and how you lost your memories?"

Satsuki nodded slowly and swallowed before saying, "I'm not sure if I should believe that all these images are my memories."

"They are! You have to remember everything! I hate being stuck here and powerless. You have to get your memories back before Leila does something stupid." The girl pulled Satsuki up and put her hands on her shoulders. "I've got a plan that guarantees that you would get your memories back. When you do, I'm sure we can fix this predicament we are in."

Satsuki stared at the enthusiastic girl in front of her as if she was crazy.

"Oh…. Don't be like that. Everything that I've told you is 100% true, I promise," The girl smiled brightly at her.

Satsuki looked the grinning girl and thought of before when all she did was cry. It feels like they are two completely different people. As if reading her mind, the girl smiled even bigger, "It's so nice to talk to you again. I was so lonely and sad because we couldn't communicate. But now that I've regained some of my powers and that we can chat again, we'll be back to the old times soon!"

"What old times?"

"Oh, you know… wait, you don't now, oops," The girl laughed at her forgetfulness, "Before you lost your memories and powers, we were like best friends. Sisters, even. We understood each other better than any other Shinigami and their zanpakutou. You were also a natural at everything that was taught at the Academy so you only took less than a year to graduate from the Shinigami Academy even without the noble family influence. Everyone called you a genius back then and I'm pretty sure they still do."

"Uh…How long ago is 'back then'?" Satsuki remembered herself saying her parents died 50 years ago. If she really was a shinigami, her parents might really have died 50 years ago.

"Um… I think it was around… 80 years? 90? That's right, around 90 years ago. If you didn't change your mind about joining the Gotei 13, you would have been the youngest to become a division captain." The girl boasted.

"I'm…that old?"Satsuki chocked out, shocked.

"That's not very old. Genryuusai is more than 2000 years old."

"Wow, Shinigami can really live that old?" Satsuki said in awe.

"Anyway, enough chitchat. Let me tell you my plan but if this plan goes wrong you will probably die," The girl said still smiling.

"And you just said we were best friends," Satsuki said quietly.

"Did you say something?"

"Ah, no, I didn't say anything at all. For now, let's just say I believe you. So tell me the plan you thought up." Satsuki laughed awkwardly.

The girl nodded happily and started outlining her plan.

...

Satsuki rolled over and opened her eyes. That girl must've carried me onto my bed, Satsuki thought as she checked the time. 1:06 a.m., her clock read. Wow, so late. I wonder if Rukia and the other's are back yet, Satsuki thought as she climed out of bed.

Satsuki yawned while stretching her arms, forming a 'Y' with her body. She walked out her bedroom door and out into the corridor. She checked the room next to her room but it was empty so that meant Rukia was still awake. Satsuki quickly walked down the stairs and into the living room, which was the only part of the house with lights on.

When she reached the living room, she saw that Rukia and the others were back but Byakuya was nowhere to be seen. Rukia and Orihime were busy tending to Ulquiorra and Ichigo's injuries so they didn't realise Satsuki was standing there. Ishida, Chad, Kon and Chappy were helping by fetching towels and warm water.

She looked closely at Ichigo and Ulquiorra and realised that they were both very pale. Ichigo's stomach was bandaged but blood was still seeping through it and had various cuts on his body. Ulquiorra looked like his arm was a hair's breadth away from falling off. Orihime was knelt beside him, using her Souten Kisshun to mend his arm. Rukia was working on Ichigo's stomach with her healing Kidou even though she didn't look too good herself. Her right arm was in a sling and it was obvious she was exhausted.

"Where's Kuchiki-san?" Satsuki couldn't help but ask.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Satsuki and she felt herself feeling self-conscious.

Rukia's voice faltered as she said, "He received the worst injuries so he's sleeping in the guest room."

Satsuki nodded slowly, "I'll go check if he's ok." She smiled at Rukia and headed back upstairs. When she arrived at the guest room, she silently opened the door and looked inside. Satsuki walked in slowly in case she made a sound and looked at Byakuya.

Byakuya was lying on a futon and breathing lightly. Maybe it was because of the moonlight shining in, but Byakuya looked deathly pale. An abrupt urge to run to the sleeping figure and hug him overcame Satsuki. Instead of hugging Byakuya, Satsuki knelt down beside him and studied his sleeping face.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw something pink. When she looked up, she saw a neat pile of clothes and the object that had caught her attention was a pink ribbon half covered by Byakuya's white captain haori. Curiously, she reached out for the ribbon. She held it up toward the moonlight and saw that the ribbon had delicate patterns woven into it.

It's my ribbon. The thought suddenly flowed into her mind, surprising her. My ribbon, Satsuki repeated in her head, feeling bewildered. She looked at Byakuya again. She felt another headache coming and she closed her eyes, trying to will the pain away. Instead of chasing the pain away, Satsuki saw a shockingly clear image in her head.

The image showed her as a shinigami, standing beside another shinigami. They both held onto a single length of pink ribbon and were smiling happily. Satsuki quickly realised the other shinigami was Byakuya and the pink ribbon was the one in her hand.

Satsuki opened her eyes and looked at Byakuya. She lay down next to him, resting her head on her arm and continued to look at his peaceful face. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and traced Byakuya's jaw line with her finger. Surprised by her own actions Satsuki quickly withdrew her hand and checked to see if she had woken the wounded captain. Relieved that Byakuya hadn't woken up, Satsuki sighed happily. But her sigh turned into a groan when her headache worsened unexpectedly. She shut her eyes tightly and she saw another image appear in her mind.

This time, she saw herself sitting on top of a roof and next to her was Byakuya, again. Byakuya turned to look at Satsuki and said something which made Satsuki laugh out loud for a long time.

Something warm on her arm made Satsuki open her eyes. She looked at her arm and found that her sleeve was wet. She reached up and rubbed her eyes and found tears falling from her eyes.

Shocked, Satsuki quickly rubbed away all the tears with her sleeve. She felt confused, why was she crying?

_Satsuki, its time_, a voice said in Satsuki's head.

Satsuki quickly sniffed and stood up.

How do you know she's here? Satsuki asked in her mind.

_I can feel her reiatsu._

Satsuki sighed and stood up. She looked at Byakuya one last time before stepping out of the room.

She quickly crossed to her room and slowly looked inside. Just like the black-haired girl had anticipated, Leila was already in her room, sitting on Satsuki's desk and staring out the window. Satsuki looked at Leila up and down but there wasn't a single scratch on her. It was obvious that Leila had won the fight.

"Ah, you're finally here." Leila said happily when she heard Satsuki close the door. She looked at Satsuki and nodded happily, "The girl isn't with you, thank God."

She soon will, Satsuki thought in her mind. "Is the deal still on?"

"What deal? Oh, _that_deal, yea, it's still on," Leila quickly plucked a feather from her wings and held it out to Satsuki. "You know what to do. You should have all your memories back by tomorrow morning."

Satsuki nodded and stepped forward, holding out her hand.

Suddenly, the black-haired appeared beside Leila and filled her back.

"Let go of me," Leila said angrily, "I will not let you ruin my plan for the second time."

The two girls continued to struggle with each other. Stealthily, the girl pulled a handful of feathers off Leila's wings and stuffed them in her kimono sleeve. Leila gave a frustrated yell, "I wish you would let go!"

Immediately, the black-haired girl let go of Leila. _Now!_Satsuki heard in her head and quickly said out loud, "I wish I had all my memories back."

Leila froze and after a moment started to laugh, seemingly unfazed that her plan to kill Satsuki with the feather was ruined again. "Great plan, you two, great plan," Leila said while laughing. "This is getting more interesting than I had expected. For this, I think I'll let you live a little while longer. But let me tell you now, Satsuki, you should've wished for my death instead of you getting you memories back. I'll make you regret not killing me tonight." Leila threatened. Then she turned her back on them and took off through the window.

The two girls watched her fly off and both sighed gladly at the same time. They both felt relieved that the plan had succeeded. There were so many places where the plan could go wrong.

The girl looked at Satsuki happily and opened her mouth to say something. But before any sound came out of her mouth, Satsuki fainted.

* * *

End note: Once again, this chapter was a event-filled chapter. ^^ It's probably very obvious who the black-haired girl is, but for those who haven't figured it out yet I won't say who she is. Leila's Zanpakutou is 'Jundo no Akuma,' which means (according to Google Translate) 'Devil of Purity.' It is the holidays now and I am overseas so I dont know what my family has planned for me. If i update late anytime during this holiday, please forgive me. So, until next time~ Bye-bye~ \(^o^)/


	13. Taste of freedom

A/N: I nearly didn't have a chapter to post today. I was being very lazy and left writing to the last moment. How irresponsible of me, haha ^^ Anyway, enjoy! =D

* * *

Chapter 13 – Taste of freedom

Satsuki opened her eyes and checked the time. It was 6 in the morning. Groaning, she pulled her blanket over her head and tried to get back to sleep. A second later, Satsuki opened her eyes again and sat up on her bed.

"TenTen," Satsuki said, her voice slightly wavering from panic.

A black haired girl in a black kimono materialised beside her and sat down beside Satsuki happily. "Satsuki-sama, you remember my name!" She exclaimed while smiling ear to ear.

Satsuki looked at her questioningly, "Why would you say that? I'll always remember your name, Kurayami no Tenshi. Anyway…where am I?"

"This is your room, Satsuki-sama."

"…My room? I don't remember having a western-style room built in the Yamane Family Manor," Satsuki said, bewildered.

TenTen sighed heavily, "Calm down, Satsuki-sama, and think carefully of what has happened so far."

After a moment of deep thought, Satsuki nodded slowly, "I remember now. Regaining my real memories made me momentarily forget what has happened recently. I came to the Human World to deal with Leila, ended up losing my memories and powers…" Satsuki sighed, "You should've just left me as I was, TenTen. I would be so much happier."

"I knew you would say that," TenTen said sadly. "But I couldn't leave you like that. We have a lot of problems to deal with, you know."

Satsuki rested her head on her knees and stared into space. The silence was broken by the chiming sound of Satsuki's alarm clock. As she turned off the alarm clock, Satsuki faced her Zanpakutou and said, "I suppose we have no choice but to face the day."

"What do you suggest we do?" TenTen asked excitedly. She can't wait to defeat Leila and regain all her powers back.

Satsuki considered it a moment, "For now, I want to pretend that I still don't have my memories back."

TenTen looked at her master in disbelief, "How can you say that at a time like this? Why can't we go to Leila straight away, kick the life out of her?"

"I hate fighting," Satsuki responded calmly and simply.

"But the sooner we get our powers back we can go back to Soul Society. Don't you miss living as a princess?"

Satsuki pondered that thought for a moment but then shook her head, "That can wait. I want to experience more of this life away from fights and responsibility."

TenTen sighed helplessly, "I suppose waiting a few more days won't do much harm. But on one condition…"

Satsuki, who was changing into her school uniform, turned and looked at TenTen curiously. TenTen smiled and held out her arms, "Gimme a hug! I missed you so much."

Satsuki laughed and gave her Zanpakutou a bear hug. "By the way, how much power do you have?"

TenTen understood Satsuki's intentions straight away so she answered, "Enough to heal those four comrades who were injured by Leila."

Satsuki smiled happily, "Then, I wish Rukia, Ichigo, Ulquiorra and Byakuya to be healed immediately."

A pair of glossy black wings, which was camouflaged by Kurayami no Tenshi's black attire, unfolded on TenTen's back. Four feathers detached themselves from the wings and each floated lazily toward four parts of the house.

"Wait, if those four are healed, then won't they immediately think that I've regained my memories?" Satsuki gasped when she realised this.

"Don't worry, it's happened before; you using your powers and forgetting you used it," TenTen reassured her.

"Of you say so. So that means these few days my acting skills would be tested. The better my acting is, the longer I can live this carefree lifestyle," Satsuki said joyfully.

Satsuki looked so happy that TenTen didn't want to ruin her cheerful mood by saying that if Leila attacked Karakura she'd have no choice but to fight, so she stayed quiet.

...

30 minutes later, everyone was in the dining room having breakfast. They had all stayed over for the night so they had decided to eat the meal and head to school together. Every person except Satsuki was astonished to find the four injured people healed when they woke up.

Halfway through the meal Rukia said, "Thank you for healing us, Satsuki."

"Oh, your welc…" Satsuki stopped herself before she blew her cover. "I mean, you're mistaken. You were the one who healed everyone with your healing Kidou, Rukia. I have no power other than being able to see spiritual beings."

Rukia smiled sadly, "Of course."

After seeing Rukia's reaction, Satsuki felt both relieved and guilty. She felt relieved because her cover wasn't blown but guilty because she made Rukia sad.

_You're the one that wanted to live this carefree life a little longer._

I know that, TenTen, but I can't stop myself feeling this way. Rukia seems so lonely, Satsuki replied in her head. The Zanpakutou didn't respond.

"Satsuki," Satsuki heard her name being called by Rukia and looked at her.

"Yes, Rukia?"

"You were spacing out for a long time. If you don't finish your breakfast soon, we'll be late."

Satsuki nodded and quickly ate her breakfast.

Five minutes later, all 6 students of Karakura High started heading to school, leaving Byakuya and Ulquiorra at home.

"If I remember correctly, we have a test today, right?" Satsuki said as they were walking to the school.

"Eh? We do?" Orihime exclaimed.

"Yup, we do. I think it's a maths test."

"The test is a history test, Yamane-san." Ishida said as he pushed his glasses up with his forefinger.

"We already had the maths test, before Rukia and you came," Ichigo said in a bored tone.

"Thank God, I hate maths," Satsuki let out a relieved sigh. She was never good at mathematics and always messed up when calculating the funding for division three.

"What about history?" Ichigo asked.

"I think I can pass that," Satsuki said.

_Of course you can, you were probably already alive when most of those events happened._

I'm not that old, and I've only ever heard about the events in the Human World from Kaa-sama and Tou-sama. I never really paid attention to their stories so I don't remember much, Satsuki answered grumpily.

Soon, the six students arrived at their school and class promptly commenced. Even though more than two weeks have passed since Rukia and Satsuki had transferred to Karakura High, the male students still glare at Ichigo enviously.

When the session ended, Satsuki smiled happily to herself. The history test was easier than expected and she was confident she will get full marks. In her mind, she started a conversation with her zanpakutou. Does it count as cheating if I relied on you during the test?

_I don't think so. I'm a part of you, so I guess it is ok._

It's a good thing that you actually listened to my parents' stories about this world.

"Satsuki, I'm going to the cafeteria, do you want to come with me?" Orihime asked Satsuki as she walked up to her.

"Sure. Maybe I can get Yakisoba bread," Satsuki replied, smiling.

As the two girls left the classroom, Rukia went to Ichigo, who was chatting to Chad and Ishida, "Is it just me, or is Satsuki acting more like how she was before she lost her memories?"

"How should I know? I didn't know Satsuki before she lost her memories," Ichigo retorted. "Anyway, why would you think that? Don't we already know that even though she uses her power doesn't…"

"I know that," Rukia interrupted, slightly irritated, "But she called me 'Rukia' this morning."

"What's wrong with that? Don't I call you 'Rukia,' too?"

Why can't we ever have a conversation that doesn't end with me feeling like I want to punch his face? Rukia asked herself in her head.

As if reading Rukia's thoughts, Ishida tutted, "You aren't very observant, are you. Before, Yamane-san always called her 'Ru-chan.'"

"What's the difference?"

Rukia and Ishida and even Chad shook their heads helplessly.

"Maybe our plan worked. If we keep talking about shinigami and Soul Society, I'm sure Satsuki would remember more." Rukia said just as Satsuki and Orihime returned from the canteen.

"The Yakisoba bread sold out so I brought Caesar Salad instead," Satsuki said sadly.

"Did you buy me a popper?" Rukia asked expectantly.

Satsuki held up the popper and Rukia's eyes lit up. She quickly took the popper, stuck the straw in and had a long sip. Satsuki laughed as she watched Rukia let out a long contented sigh.

Have you ever tried Human World food, TenTen? Satsuki asked in her head.

_Nope. But isn't Human World food the same as the ones in Soul Society?_

They look the same, but tastes slightly different. Or maybe that's because chef-dono isn't the one cooking.

_Hiro-san's cooking is the best._

I agree with you, but the food in this world is delicious too.

"…Tsuki…Satsuki!" Rukia shook Satsuki's shoulder.

"Eh? What's the matter?"

"You keep spacing out today," Rukia looked at Satsuki with a worried expression.

"I was just thinking about some stuff, that's all." Satsuki smiled reassuringly.

A beeping sound came from Rukia's pocket. She quickly took out her Denreishinki and checked the screen. At the same time a beeping sound also came from Ichigo's pocket.

"There are hollows near the park," Rukia said simply as she put her phone away. "Who wants to go deal with it?"

"I'll go," Ichigo said as he started to walk out the classroom.

"What's our next class?" Satsuki asked Ishida.

"We have maths next," He answered.

"Strawberry-san, wait, I'm coming too," Satsuki called after Ichigo as she chased after his retreating form.

"Using that as an excuse to miss out on class," Ishida mumbled as he shook his head.

"Maybe there is a chance she will remember something if she sees Ichigo fight," Rukia said hopefully.

…

"Can't you walk a bit slower?" Satsuki asked grumpily while shooting daggers at the shinigami in front of her.

"The sooner I get there and deal with the hollow, the sooner we can go back to school," Ichigo replied without looking back.

"But I don't want to go to maths," she whinged.

"I thought you don't like violence."

"I dislike maths more than fights."

"I see," He replied while slightly chuckling.

Ichigo suddenly stopped running and Satsuki realised they were already at the park. In front of them were two hollows. One was gigantic and had six arms with claw-like fingers. The other resembled a lizard; four legs and a tail. Both were wearing white oval-shaped masks.

"Time to work," Ichigo said, unsheathing his giant sword.

Satsuki sat down on a bench and watched Ichigo fight the hollows. She watched as Ichigo charged at them straight on and slashed at the lizard-like hollow. The hollow lost one of its legs and shrieked in pain. It flicked its tail and would've cut Ichigo's head off if he hadn't jumped out of the way.

_He has a high level of Reiatsu but he's reckless, just like you._

Yes, he is like how I was before. But I've changed and I am not reckless anymore, Satsuki replied in her head as she watched Ichigo split the six-armed hollow's head into two. Satsuki frowned and sighed.

_Killing a hollow doesn't actually mean killing it…_

The hollow is purified and sent to Soul Society, I know, but it's still not a good sigh to see a hollow getting its head cut in half.

_There's one hollow left._

And I'm not going to be the one who purifies it. Satsuki heard her zanpakutou sigh when she said this.

_You need to show him how to deal with those hollows more efficiently. He's taking an awfully long time dealing with two simple hollows._

I'm sure he knows what he is doing.

_But it's boring not doing anything. I need exercise or I'll gain wait._

You won't get fat, you're a zanpakutou. Just wait a little longer. Besides, how are we meant to fight when we don't even have our power back?

_Why can't we just go and find Leila right now and…_

That can wait.

_I hate waiting. _The zanpakutou groaned and Satsuki giggled at TenTen's impatience.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo asked. He had already sent the lizard-like hollow off to Soul society and was looking at Satsuki as if she was crazy.

"Nothing, let's go back. Maths is probably over, considering how long it took for you to deal with those hollows." Satsuki said as she stood up and started walking toward their school.

"Like you can do any better," Ichigo grumbled.

"I think you should ask Rukia to train you. You made a mess back there," Satsuki said not bothering to see if Ichigo caught up to her.

"I did not make a mess."

"I suggest you take another look at the park."

Ichigo looked at the park and found that Satsuki was right. The park was a mess; the swings were broken, the sand pit was upturned and so was the ground.

"Well… it could've been worse." Ichigo said still staring at the park.

"You shouldn't use Getsuga Tenshou when fighting at places like this. Even though you have a large amount of Reiatsu, you should use them wisely in case a more powerful enemy turned up."

"I know that," Ichigo snapped. "What do we do now? Should we call Urahara?"

Satsuki stopped walking and turned to him. Satsuki sighed, "I'll fix up the park, but don't expect me to do it again. You need learn from your mistakes, not repeat them. That is common knowledge in your world, yes?"

Satsuki didn't wait for a reply. Instead, she casually waved her hand at the park, turned and continued walking.

Ichigo stared at what was happening in front of him. The park was returning to normal. The seats on the swings were reattached itself to the chains and the scattered sand returned to the sandpit. The upturned soil also filled up the holes in the ground. When Ichigo stopped staring at the park and looked around him, he found that Satsuki was already at least a kilometre away from him so he used Shunpo to catch up to her.

"You're using unnecessary powers again," Satsuki commented without turning to look at Ichigo.

"Back there; did you use your shinigami powers?" Ichigo asked.

_You're going to get found out. _Satsuki heard TenTen say in a singsong voice.

Not if I can help it, Satsuki replied in her mind. She turned to Ichigo with the most innocent expression she could muster, "What do you mean by shinigami powers? You were the one who mended the park, not me."

Ichigo looked like he was about to argue so Satsuki said, "The only human with shinigami powers is you, Strawberry-san. I'm not that special."

"Stupid selective amnesia," Ichigo grumbled.

"Did you say something? I didn't quite catch it," Satsuki's expression didn't change but she was smiling internally. I love my acting skills, don't you, TenTen?

_I hate it. You're lucky they are gullible._

Fine then, be that way. Satsuki muttered at her sword.

…

The sun was setting as Satsuki and Rukia prepared dinner. The group of spiritually aware students were eating over at their house again.

"Oh," Satsuki said as she looked inside the fridge, "We ran out of eggs, looks like we won't be able to make omelettes today."

"I'll go buy it then," Rukia offered. She knew Satsuki loved omelettes and had to at least have one every day.

"It's ok, I'll go buy it. You take care of the other dishes." Satsuki replied as she pulled off her apron.

As she headed for the door, Byakuya suddenly stepped out of the living room.

"Oh, Byakuya," Satsuki said. Wait, I'm not meant to know him, um honorific, have to call him with an honorific.

_Chan will do. Call him Byakuya-chan, Satsuki-sama._

Satsuki was too flustered to notice TenTen's mischievous tone and blurted out, "Hello, Byakuya-chan."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow and Satsuki quickly realised what she had called him.

"Um… I mean, hello Byakuya-san. I need to go buy some eggs so I'll be off now," Satsuki said and rushed past him while holding back laughter. Oh my God, TenTen, look at what you've made me do.

'_Chan' suits him, don't you think?_

"Satsuki," Byakuya said in a serious tone that instantly made Satsuki stop and face him.

"Yes, Byakuya-san," Satsuki smiled at him but her heart was pounding a mile an hour. This wasn't going to end well.

"You're acting probably tricks others but never fools me and never will."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean."

Byakuya walked up to her causing Satsuki's heart to beat faster but due to a different reason than before. She stayed still as Byakuya reached up and skilfully tied Satsuki's hair with something pink. When he was done, Satsuki touched her hair and found that her long hair was tied in a ponytail with the pink ribbon had patterns carefully woven into it.

Satsuki bit her lip and whispered in his ear, "Give me three days. I promise that in three days, I'll go deal with Leila and end this nuisance."

And with that she walked out the door.

* * *

End note: A little bit of ByakuyaXOC in the last part XD When I was planning this story, my friend thought I should make a UraharaXOC but i decided against it though. Maybe I should write a UraharaXOC in the future...  
Anyway, until next time~^^


	14. Back to Business

A/N: Surprised? Haha me too =P On Sunday, my mum told me we are going to visit my grandparents and will be staying there for a few days. I'm not sure if they have internet so to be on the safe side, i wrote a chapter and posted it today. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14 – Back to Business

"These three days passed in a blink of an eye," Satsuki sighed and looked at the black bird resting on her knee. The black bird looked like a fluffy ball and the ends of its wings were white. She reached out to stoke its head with her finger, "You really don't need to be that happy TenTen."

The black bird flew off Satsuki's knee and circled the space beside her. A second later, the bird transformed into the black-haired girl, also known as Kurayami no Tenshi.

"But we are going to fight Leila soon," TenTen replied. "These past few days were a bore. I don't get why you like the human lifestyle, Satsuki-sama. A;; you do is sleep, eat and go to school."

"I'm sure I did more things than that."

The zanpakutou didn't reply, instead she looked up at the moon shining brightly above them. "How long has it been since we last sat on the roof and admired the moon like this?"

"Around a month, I think."

Kurayami no Tenshi was quiet for a moment, then, "Is it me or is something missing?"

Satsuki looked around and frowned, "I don't think so. Maybe it's just because we're on a roof of a house in the Human World instead of sitting on the roof of the Yamane Family Manor… Ah! I know what's wrong. Usually when we are admiring the moon, either Byakuya or Rukia would accompany us."

"Those times were the best, us all sitting on the roof and chatting all night. Those times are placed second best on my list of 'The best things of my life."

"Stop talking in past tense. Even though Rukia is probably really angry at me right now, she will calm down eventually and we will resume our nightly moon admiring. On a different note, I am rather curious as what is placed first on that list."

"Well, two things are tied with first place, one of them is being your zanpakutou, Satsuki-sama," TenTen smiled brightly.

"Isn't that the same for every zanpakutou?"

TenTen shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, the second thing that is also placed first in my heart is fighting!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Satsuki asked at the sky.

TenTen laughed but then she soon turned serious, "Ne, Satsuki-sama, how are you going to tell the others that you have already regained your memories and were pretending you haven't for last few days?"

Satsuki sighed miserably, "To be honest, I don't know yet. But no one would be happy to find out that they've been lied to."

"You got that right," a familiar voice muttered.

Satsuki and TenTen turned to see Rukia climbing up to the roof. She stood there glaring at the two girls.

If looks could kill…Satsuki thought in her head and shuddered.

"Uh…hi, Rukia-sama, say hello to Sode no Shirayuki for me, bye!" And with that, Kurayami no Tenshi's form faded as she returned to Satsuki's inner world.

_I'll cheer for you from here, Satsuki-sama. Good luck dealing with the ice-queen!_ TenTen's voice rang out in Satsuki's head.

Traitor, Satsuki grumbled at her zanpakutou in her mind. Then, with a small smile, turned to Rukia and said, "Good evening, Rukia, I understand you are very angry at me-"

"So you were lying to all of us this whole time?" Rukia interrupted with a tone of disappointment.

"Not the whole time, I only regained my memories three days ago."

"Why didn't you tell us straight away?"

"Well…" Satsuki's voice trailed off and she fiddled with her long hair sheepishly.

"You're being selfish, Satsuki-nee-chan."

Satsuki remained quiet. She couldn't defend herself because what Rukia said was right. "I know," she said so quietly.

Rukia continued talking as if she didn't hear her, "For the past few days, you've only been thinking about yourself; pretending that you haven't regained your memories in order to not fight. Have you forgotten the ways of the Gotei 13?"

"To give one's life to destroy evil…" Satsuki recited.

"That's right, Nee-chan. And what have you been doing the past few days? Nothing! You're dislike for violence is not an excuse to run away from battle. If I haven't found out that you were lying to us tonight, you probably would have continued to pretend, wouldn't you? You always say you hate violence, but the truth is you're actually afraid of fighting. You're parents died because they lost to hollows so now you're afraid of fighting them because there's a chance you'll end up like them."

Satsuki's eyes widened but she didn't say anything.

_Rukia-sama is right, Satsuki-sama. To say the truth, I've always known you were afraid to fight. You say you sealed most of my powers away because you didn't want to use such destructive powers against your enemies but the truth is that you are afraid that if everyone finds out about your true powers, you'll be forced by the others to participate in every battle._

"You're right," Satsuki said quietly to both Rukia and TenTen.

"That's enough, Rukia. Is that the way to talk to your elder?" a male voice said.

Satsuki and Rukia turned to see that Byakuya had climbed up to the roof without them realising and was staring at Rukia with cold eyes.

"It's ok. Rukia is right, Byakuya. I've been cowardly all this time. I'm sure Kaa-sama and Tou-sama are disappointed in my actions," Satsuki said. She stood up, "In this state I'm in, I'm probably not even qualified to be called a shinigami. I need to get rid of this irrational fear of fighting as soon as possible and go deal with Leila. But first I should probably go confess to the people downstairs." She took a step forward, stopped and laughed shakily, "Wow, I can't believe I'm this nervous about facing a couple of human teenagers."

Satsuki jumped of the roof and landed stealthily on the ground. As soon as her feet touched the ground, a black bird appeared beside her and landed on her shoulder. She stroked the bird's head and after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she opened the door and stepped inside. She found the four teenagers and one Espada in the living room, watching TV. She sat down, cleared her throat and start at them intently, "I have an announcement to make."

"What? You got your memories back?" Ichigo joked, still staring at the TV.

"Eh? How'd you know?" Satsuki gasped, not realising that Ichigo was joking.

Every head, except for Ulquiorra's, turned to stare at Satsuki.

"No way," Ichigo exclaimed with widened eyes. "How did you get it back?"

"Wait, a few hours ago, Yamane-san went to her room and now she just came in from the front door," Ishida looked at Satsuki, "For all we know, she might be Leila in disguise. How can we be sure she is the real Satsuki Yamane?"

The others now looked at Satsuki with suspicion. Satsuki looked back at them with a surprised expression.

"You have my word she is the real Satsuki Yamane," Byakuya stepped into the room with Rukia following behind. He sat down beside Satsuki and Rukia sat next to him.

"Satsuki-nee-chan jumped off the roof," Rukia tried to explain.

"What were you doing on the roof?"Ichigo asked feeling more confused.

"Admiring the moon," Satsuki said. "Anyway, about what I was saying, you guys don't seem very angry at me."

"Why would we be angry that you got your memories back, Satsuki-chan?" Orihime asked.

"Actually, I got my memories back three days ago," Satsuki admitted.

"Say what? And you're only telling us this now, why?" Ichigo yelled.

I told you they would get angry, Satsuki said to TenTen in her head. "Well… I'm only telling you this now because…"

Sensing Satsuki's discomfort Byakuya said, "She has her own reasons."

"At least tell us how you got your memories back," Ichigo said.

"TenTen thought up a plan to trick Leila into giving me a chance to wish for my memories back," Satsuki answered.

"Who's TenTen?" Orihime asked.

"TenTen is my zanpakutou. Her full name is Kurayami no Tenshi, but that name is too long so I nicknamed her TenTen instead."

"TenTen is a cute name," Orihime said with a smile.

_I like her,_ TenTen said to Satsuki.

Satsuki laughed, "TenTen appears to have taken a liking to you."

Orihime smiled wider but then sighed, "It would be wonderful if I could meet her. It's a pity only the zanpakutou's master can see them."

_Can I change into my human form?_ TenTen said excitedly.

I suppose there's no harm in letting them see you. Satsuki answered in her head. "You're looking at her right now," She said to Orihime.

Orihime looked at Satsuki with a confused expression. The black bird jumped off Satsuki's shoulder and landed on the floor beside Satsuki. A moment later, the black bird was gone, replaced by a black-haired girl wearing a black kimono.

"I completely forgot there was this possibility," Rukia slapped her forehead.

"Oh yea, she fits what Leila said perfectly; black-haired girl wearing a black kimono." Ichigo pointed at TenTen.

"It is rude to point, you know," TenTen frowned at the orange-haired boy and then turned to Orihime. Holding out her hand, TenTen smiled at Orihime, "Nice to meet you Orihime-chan."

Orihime's eyes widened and she shook TenTen's hand excitedly, "That was so cool! It was kind of weird that the bird started following Satsuki-chan three days back but we never thought that the black bird was Satsuki-chan's zanpakutou! Is it alright if I call you TenTen?"

"Of course you can call me TenTen," the zanpakutou replied.

"So…You people really aren't angry at me?" Satsuki asked quietly.

The humans looked at each other and then shook their heads simultaneously.

"Everyone has their own problems. We all know you don't like violence, so we can kind of understand why you didn't want to tell us the truth straight away," Ichigo shrugged.

"Never knew you were capable of saying stuff like this," Satsuki said looking at Ichigo.

"What did you say, woman?" Ichigo yelled.

Satsuki frowned at him, "Is that the way to treat your elder?"

"I know about all that shinigami ages crap. Even if you divide your age by 10…" Ichigo started.

"I'd still be older than you," Satsuki finished for him.

"Say what?" Ichigo said startled.

"I'd still be older than you by at least 3 human years." Satsuki replied calmly.

Ichigo pointed at Rukia and then at Satsuki, "If Rukia is the same age as me and then Satsuki is three years older…Holy crap! You're 180 years old?"

Satsuki nodded proudly, "I don't look it, do I?"

'You're old," Ichigo laughed.

Satsuki threw a cushion at him. Ichigo caught it skilfully and was going to throw it back at her when a beeping sound stopped his movements.

"Yes! A hollow," TenTen jumped up excitedly. "I bags this hollow, c'mon Satsuki-sama, let's go! This is a great way of getting rid of your fear…uh…dislike of violence."

TenTen pulled her master out the door and the rest soon follow them outside.

"TenTen, stop, wait for me to get out of this Gigai and then we'll go deal with the hollow," Satsuki took off her earring that was shaped like an azure-coloured marigold and pressed it onto her forehead. Immediately her soul was separated from the Gigai.

Satsuki stretched happily, "It feels so good to be out of that Gigai. The Gigai was so bothersome, it restricted my movements so much it nearly drove me crazy. TenTen, come back to my inner world. You're wasting our powers by maintaining you form." TenTen nodded and her form faded. After stretching a bit more Satsuki asked Rukia where the hollow's location was and started running toward it.

"Is Nee-chan going to be alright?" Rukia asked her brother worriedly while staring at Satsuki.

Byakuya was quiet for a moment and just when Rukia thought he wasn't going to reply, Byakuya said, "Satsuki is a strong fighter, both physically and emotionally." With that he started walking, leaving Rukia behind.

"Oi, stop spacing out," Ichigo flicked Rukia's forehead and earning a glare from her.

"I was thinking," Rukia muttered while rubbing her forehead. She started running after Satsuki and Ichigo fell in step with her. "Ichigo, can you help me with something?"

"Uh, sure…"

"Help me get rid of Satsuki Nee-chan's fear…I mean…dislike of fighting."

"You should hire a counsellor or something."

Rukia glared at Ichigo again, "Be serious."

"You're the one that wanted me to help."

Rukia stopped and Ichigo saw that they were already at the location shown on the Denreishinki. It was a shopping district. Ichigo realised they were the last ones to arrive. Thankfully, the shops were all closed so there weren't any civilians around.

"If you dare interfere, I will kill you," Satsuki said pulling out her sword.

Ichigo laughed, "As if I would stay on the sidelines."

Satsuki looked at him coldly, "What I have just said wasn't a cheap threat. You WILL die if you get into contact with my power."

Ichigo ignored her and took a forward step. Immediately, a wave of pink formed a wall in front of him. "Do as she says," said the calm but menacing voice of Byakuya. Rukia grabbed Ichigo's sleeve and pulled him back.

"How about I give you another reason? By how you fought the hollows that were in the park three days ago, if I let you deal with the hollows here, you'll tear this place up."

Ichigo huffed and sat down.

"Good boy," Satsuki smiled.

A deafening howl rang out as more than five hollows suddenly ran toward Satsuki, attracted to her by her overwhelmingly large amount of reiatsu.

_We don't have a lot of power to waste._ TenTen reminded Satsuki.

I know, I guess I have no choice but to use Tenshi no Chiri.

_And no time for that act that you always do._

Piercing my heart and having wings sprout out my back looked cool. Satsuki protested. All the characters who have special powers in manga always do an awesome pose when unleashing their powers, so why can't I?

_No time. Now hurry up and deal with those hollows with the REAL Tenshi no Chiri, I need exercise. _

Very well, Satsuki huffed.

She held out her zanpakutou, "Kanae, Kurayami no Tenshi."

The thin sword turned into dust, joined together and formed a set of black wings on Satsuki's back. She flapped her wings and took off, flying over the hollows and showering them with fine, black dust.

The hollows froze and after a moment howled in unison and disappeared.

_The time between when the dust landed on them and when the hollows died was too long. You've gotten rusty with your zanpakutou skills._

I know, Satsuki muttered while frowning. It'll get back to normal soon; it's just been too long since I used our real powers. Satsuki wiped the frown off her face as she landed near Ichigo.

"See, strawberry-san, I didn't even damage a single brick of this shopping district." Satsuki frowned and looked to her left, "I knew it was too easy."

What Satsuki saw was a hollow slightly larger than the average human. "Arrancar," Rukia widened her eyes.

Satsuki nodded, "I'll be right back."

A slight breeze blew past Ichigo and Rukia as Satsuki used Shunpo to get near the enemy. Satsuki held out her hand and a couple of feathers flew into her hand, forming a sharp, black katana. The Arrancar raised his hand to block the sword that was being swung toward him. He managed to stop the sword for a second but as Satsuki applied more pressure his arm was cut clean off.

The enemy yelled in pain but Satsuki ignored him. She flicked her sword and his other arm was also cut off.

_Hurry up and finish him off, Satsuki-sama, I've no interest in weaklings like him._

Satsuki was used to her zanpakutou's impatience so she only smiled. She flicked her sword twice and a large X formed on the Arrancar's torso. Blood spurted out of the Arrancar's body as he fell to his knees and landed face first onto the ground. A second later, his body disappeared.

Satsuki turned and walked toward her friends. "I just remembered something really important that I need to tell you." She sat down and looked at each of them, "I'm afraid that another war between the Espada and the shinigami will start soon."

"What?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"When I looked through Leila's head, I found out that she wants to continue what Aizen was doing before. Right now, she's creating new Arrancars and Espada to help her break Aizen out."

"Does Soutaichou know?" Rukia asked.

Satsuki nodded and looked at Ulquiorra, "Leila wanted you and the other Espada to go back to Hueco Mundo so that she you can help her break Aizen out. You could say she wanted to recruit you because you participated in the Winter War and have more experience in fighting shinigami than her."

Satsuki looked at everyone's dismayed expression and then said, "There is one way to stop another Winter War from happening. That way is to find Leila as soon as possible and defeat her before things get out of hand."

"She's a very strong enemy, though," Rukia said while thinking back to the four-against-one battle they had lost to a few days ago.

"I'll be the one dealing with Leila," Satsuki said, "You guys will be responsible of getting rid of the new Arrancar and Espada. We'll meet at Kisuke Urahara's shop in a week."

"Why in a week, can't we go now?" Ichigo asked.

"You can but I wouldn't recommend it, though," Satsuki said standing up. "Don't you people need to prepare, like, training or something? To tell you the truth, I need to train."

"But you were perfect," Orihime disagreed.

Satsuki shook her head, "I've gone rusty. I need to take the seal off and start from step one again."

Rukia looked at Satsuki, "You really want to get rid of your fear, I mean, dislike of fighting, don't you? Are you sure you want to take the seal off?"

Satsuki nodded with a determined expression and then looked at the group, "So, anyone who wants to go defeat Leila with me meet at Urahara's shop in a week. Train hard you guys, because I am. Bye-bye!" And with that she disappeared, using Shunpo.

2 minutes later, Satsuki stopped outside a Japanese-styled shop. A black cat came out from somewhere and walked toward Satsuki. Satsuki kneeled down and patted the cat's head, "Hello, Yoruichi-dono."

"Long time no see," Yoruichi responded and walked inside the shop with Satsuki following her. "Kisuke, someone is here to see you!"

The hat-wearing shopkeeper called Urahara Kisuke walked out from somewhere inside the shop and recognised Satsuki immediately. "Hello Satsuki Yamane-Hime." Urahara smiled at Satsuki.

Satsuki nodded and smiled back, "Two days ago, I called you and told you what was going to happen."

Urahara nodded, "The second Winter War might be coming."

"Correct. I'm not at my best at the moment so I need to train before we go deal with Leila."

"You've already told me on the phone the day before yesterday. You need my underground training area starting from today, right?"

"I'm just checking if you remember what I said."

"Of course I would remember. Do you want me to prepare a Garganta?"

Satsuki nodded again. "I would like to start my training as soon as possible, so can you please show me to the training area now?"

Urahara nodded and motioned for her to follow him. They walked into one of the many rooms of the shop and Urahara opened up a section of the floor. Satsuki thanked him and climbed down into the vast training area hidden under the shop.

She walked around a bit, absorbing her surrounds. So TenTen, where would you like to train? Here or my inner world?

_We'll start with three days in the inner world and then the last four days in the underground training area_.

Ok, Satsuki closed her eyes and meditated.

* * *

End note: Hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry if it seems rushed but I wrote this very quickly in case I ran out of time. _ During this school holiday, I will be ignoring my one chapter a week rule because I have tonnes of free time. That means, if I get lots of inspiration I might post more than one chapter a week...hopefully...Until next time! ^^


	15. Training

A/N: To be honest, I am sort of regretting my announcement at the end of the last chapter... Currently I am thinking 'how can i possibly post 2 chapters a week? I can barely update a chapter a week!' I am getting major writer's block TT_TT But i will try my best by reading a lot of manga and watching a lot of anime to get inspiration. ^^ Btw~ I finally have someone other than me to blame if people find mistakes in my story because... I HAVE AN EDITOR~ =D He is Ichiban Bakayaro. ^^ Anyway, enough from me. Enjoy~

* * *

Chapter 15 – Training

A petite, white butterfly fluttered lazily into a certain isolated shop owned by a certain exiled shinigami. It flew around the shop as if searching for something and finally, after five minutes, landed on a certain floorboard.

"I've been expecting you," a voice said as a hat-wearing, blonde-haired man stepped into the room. He kept walking toward the butterfly and put a foot on the floorboard that the butterfly was resting on. Even though his foot was only a few centimetres away from the butterfly, the butterfly didn't flinch or fly away. "I'm afraid the place you want to go to is off-limits. You see, the underground training area is currently in use," Urahara eyed the butterfly, "Leila."

After a full minute, the butterfly was gone, replaced by an annoyed Leila who was standing with her arms crossed and glaring viciously at Urahara.

Narrowing her eyes, Leila opened her mouth and said, "I should've known this was a set-up. What does she want now?"

"Oh, you know why she lured you here?"

"She did it before, that's how she got her memories back. So what does she want this time?"

"Are you really going to let me wish?"

"What's the worse you could wish for? You can't wish for my death because the zanpakutou power doesn't let you."

"I wish that the powers you stole from Satsuki will return to her."

"Even if I don't have Satsuki's powers, I've developed my own."

Urahara shrugged, "I also wish that you will go back to Hueco Mundo and never be able to leave."

Leila looked at Urahara, "I thought as much." She reached out her hand and started to open a Garganta.

"Wait," Urahara called out. Leila turned to Urahara with a raised eyebrow. "How did you get inside the shop? I put up a barrier."

Leila smiled and answered simply, "I wished."

"Then that means I get another chance to wish. I believe everyone would like me to wish this. I wish that Satsuki's fear of fighting will disappear. Please don't tell Satsuki I wished for this."

Leila smiled but before she could say anything, she was forced to step inside the Garganta by Urahara's wish.

"Thank you for coming," Urahara waved cheerfully as the Garganta closed up. He sat down and thought back to what had happened less than an hour ago.

Flashback starts.

Satsuki poked her head out of the floorboard and called for Urahara. A few seconds later, the shopkeeper walked into the room.

"I need your help with something, Urahara," Satsuki went straight to the point. "I need to do something really important, but right now I don't have enough power. To fix this predicament, I need you to get my powers back from Leila."

Urahra nodded slowly, "It's been nearly 50 hours since you stepped into that training area that night and started training, I was beginning to think you were going to stay there forever. Let me guess, you want me to wish for your powers back?"

Satsuki nodded, "And also wish for her to go back to Hueco Mundo and stay there forever."

"I've been meaning to ask. Why do others get a chance to make a wish every time you make a wish? Is it a flaw in the zanpakutou's powers?"

"It's a flaw that showed up when I sealed TenTen's power. If I take away the seal, the flaw won't exist any more."

Urahara nodded, "So I get to wish two wishes because...?"

"You get two wishes because she will make one to change herself into an animal to attract less attention. And another wish when she wishes to transform back into her original form."

Urahara nodded again, "So how will you get Leila to come here?"

"In a moment, I will let my reiatsu go wild. Judging by Leila's personality, she will take this as a challenge and come rushing, looking for a fight."

Satsuki closed her eyes and immediately afterwards, Urahara felt a large pressure around him and forced to stay upright. The pressure was gone in a blink of an eye.

"Well, I look forward to your good news," with that said, Satsuki climbed back down into underground training area."

Flashback ends.

…

Satsuki slowly opened her eyes. Immediately, she felt something was off but couldn't tell what was wrong. It was like there was some emotion that was always there had disappeared. Satsuki dismissed the feeling and smiled happily, "Looks like the plan succeeded, TenTen."

_Yes, now hurry up and take the seal away._

Satsuki laughed and then took off her necklace. She stared at the wings-shaped trinket. Then she slowly closed her eyes and started chanting a spell. After five minutes of chanting Satsuki, without opening her eyes, grabbed each side of the trinket. A loud snap that echoed throughout the vast training area signalled the trinket had been broken in half.

Satsuki opened her eyes and stared at the broken trinket in her hands. 85 years, Satsuki sighed internally, it's already been that long since Kaa-sama gave this necklace to me. Now that I think of it, I've never told her I made this necklace into a seal...

Her train of thought was suddenly broken by TenTen's cheering.

_I feel so light,_ TenTen laughed, _there's nothing restricting me anymore. No weight, no limit to my powers, there's no words to describe how happy I feel._

Satsuki laughed but then remembered how much reiatsu she had without the seal. She reached into her pocket and produced a seemingly plain, silver ring. On closer inspection, one would see delicate carvings of a star with wings, or in other words, the Yamane Family's family emblem.

_No,_ TenTen's voice echoed inside of Satsuki's head. _Not another seal._

This one isn't permanent, Satsuki responded as she slipped the ring on her forefinger. She stared at the ring for a moment and though, this ring needs a good polish.

_I don't get why you need to wear that ring here. Urahara said this room is, like, collapse-due-to-too-much-reiatsu-proof. _

Just in case, Satsuki said, I need to go and thank Urahara for helping me.

TenTen was quiet for a moment and then, a_h, do you remember the time where you left the manor without the ring, 95 years ago. Everywhere you went, buildings collapsed and everyone was forced to their knees due to your absurdly large amount of reiatsu._ TenTen laughed at the memory.

Satsuki laughed, too, as she climbed up the ladder out of the training area. The first thing she saw was Ichigo's angry face.

Ichigo pointed an accusing finger at Satsuki and looked at Urahara, "I can't use the training area because of her? She doesn't even need to train!"

Satsuki put her hands on her hips, "Of course I need to train, I thought I told you before!"

The two stared at each other and then turned to Urahara.

"I will be the one using the underground training area," both of them said at the same time.

"How about you both use it. There's plenty of space for both of you to train."

Satsuki looked at Ichigo and then back at Urahara, "Only on one condition. Let Ichigo and I fight, if I think he is worthy of it, I will let him share the training area with me."

"What? Why do I need your recognition? And why fighting? I thought you hated fighting."

Satsuki shrugged, "I just felt like having a little showdown with the person everyone in Soul Society is so interested about. I asked Urahara if I could use the area first, so of course you would need my recognition to use the training area."

Ichigo looked at Urahara incredulously, "You're really going to let me and her fight?"

Urahara nodded thoughtfully, "When you are fighting him, don't take off that ring because if you do take off the restraint, you might just accidentally kill him."

"True,"Satsuki nodded as well. "Before I forget, thank you for helping me get my powers back."

Urahara smiled.

Satsuki nodded at him, and then proceeded to grab Ichigo's collar and drag him to the open floorboard.

"What are you doing, woman," Ichigo yelled at Satsuki.

"We don't have time to waste. I still need to train more," Satsuki said and pushed Ichigo down the hole. She turned to Urahara and smiled, "After I deal with that orange-haired baka, would you and Yoruichi-dono care to have a game of tag with me?"

Urahara's smile widened, "My pleasure. But weren't you going to train in your inner world for three days? It's only been two days."

"There's been a change of plans. Why train in my inner world when there are so many people who I can train with in the physical world?"

…

Ichigo stared at his opponent, Satsuki, and tightened his grip on his zanpakutou. They had been fighting for what seemed like half an hour. Ichigo's clothes were cut everywhere and his hollow mask was cracked but he wasn't injured. Satsuki, on the other hand, didn't have a single cut on her. When she dealt with the hollows and Arrancar two days ago, she had a lot of reiatsu. But now, she has, like, ten times more reiatsu. What has she been doing?

"Stop spacing out, baka, if I was a real enemy I would have already killed you," Satsuki said while playing with her long hair.

Ichigo gritted his teeth to stop himself from cussing. He charged at Satsuki and swung his large sword at her. Immediately a few feathers flew into Satsuki's hand and formed a thin, black sword. She raised her katana to block his attack.

"Not bad," Satsuki commented before disappearing by using shunpo.

Satsuki appeared behind Ichigo and flicked her sword. Another small cut formed on Ichigo's shinigami clothes. "If I were a real enemy, you would have been cut in half already," Satsuki said and ducked as Ichigo swung his sword at him.

She kicked at his shins and he went sprawling. Ichigo's shocked expression made Satsuki laugh so much her stomach started hurting and tears formed in her eyes. She sat down on a nearby rock and took deep breathes to stop her laughter.

Ichigo stood there staring at her for a moment. Then, in the next second, Ichigo vanished and appeared beside Satsuki with his sword pointed at Satsuki's throat. "Do I have your permission to use the training area now, O great, stuck-up Hime-sama?"

Satsuki looked up and gave him a small smile. She leaned forward so that the sword pierced her skin. Ichigo looked horrified as a small lake of blood started flowing from Satsuki's wound. He took a step back, "Are you crazy, Satsuki! What the hell are you doing?"

Satsuki smiled, "Nice facial expression, Ichigo." She stood up and rubbed her injury. When she took her hand away, the wound was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence that the wound had ever existed was the dried blood slightly smudged on her neck. "That was the best 10 minutes I've had since coming to the human world. For letting me have a great time, you have my permission to use the training area."

Had it really been only 10 minutes? Ichigo wondered as he watched Satsuki call for Urahara and Yoruichi.

"Kurosaki-kun, would you like to join us? We are going to have a game of tag," Urahara asked.

"You guys are still playing tag at this age?" Ichigo asked back, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't underestimate the power of tag, Strawberry-san, it's a great way to improve your agility and speed."

Ichigo still stared at her sceptically.

Satsuki sighed, "Just have a game with us and I promise it will change your view of tag." Satsuki paused a moment and then smiled, "It seems like TenTen wants to play too."

"The more the merrier," Urahara smiled.

TenTen materialised beside Satsuki with a happy cheer. Now that the seal was taken away, TenTen's appearance was different. She was no longer in a plain, black kimono. Now, she was wearing a kimono that was also black but had white angel wings imprinted on the bottom of her kimono. TenTen's long, black hair was tied up in a ponytail with a white ribbon, much like her master, Satsuki's.

Satsuki put a hand on TenTen's shoulder and smiled mischievously, "You're it." As soon as she said that, she used shunpo to get away from her zanpakutou as fast as possible.

"No fair, I wasn't ready yet!" TenTen called after Satsuki, Then, her gaze landed on Ichigo and smiled at him.

Ichigo felt a cold shiver run down his spine and instinctively used shunpo to get away from TenTen. He landed on a nearby rock about 15 metres away, but when he turned to see where TenTen was, he couldn't find her.

"You're so slow," a singsong voice rang out behind Ichigo. He turned around to see TenTen grinning at him. Before he could react, the zanpakutou flicked Ichigo's forehead and said, "You're it. Here's a little tip, never stay in the same place for too long. People will know where you are because of your reiatsu." She smiled and disappeared from view.

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. A flash of blonde caught his eye so he started to chase after it. I'll just tag someone else and leave the game to train by myself, Ichigo thought as he chased Urahara.

After about three minutes of using shunpo to chase after Urahara, Ichigo stopped and slumped down on a nearby rock. Urahara appeared near Ichigo, out of reach, in case Ichigo decided to tag him. "My, my, Kurosaki-kun, you need to improve your shunpo skills. It's only been three minutes and you're exhausted," Urahara tutted.

"I'm not exhausted, I'm just a bit out of breath," Ichigo retorted. He stood up and tried to tap Urahara but he had already used shunpo to get away. Ichigo saw Yoruichi in the corner of his eyes but he knew he had no chance of catching up to her, she is the flash goddess after all. He turned a full circle and saw Satsuki, who was standing on a particularly large rock a few metres away, giving him a look that Ichigo took as a challenge to chase after her.

Satsuki giggled and used shunpo to get away from Ichigo. He was finding it hard to catch up to Satsuki but then he had an idea. He put his hand in front of his face and when he took his hand away, his hollow mask was covering his face. Immediately, his speed increased drastically and quickly reached her. He reached out and tried to grab Satsuki's hand. His hand closed something cold and silver. The thing slipped off Satsuki's hand and a sudden pressure forced Ichigo to the ground.

Satsuki stopped and looked at her hand and then at what Ichigo held in his hand. She stared at Ichigo, who was lying with his face buried in the ground due to Satsuki's reiatsu. She quickly went over to him, took the silver ring from him and slipped it back onto her forefinger. As soon as she did that, the invisible force disappeared and Ichigo was able to stand up again.

"What the hell was that?" Ichigo exclaimed. That reiatsu couldn't possible be Satsuki's right?

As if knowing what Ichigo was thinking, Satsuki said, "Yes, that is my reiatsu that you felt just then. As you can see, I have a large amount of spiritual pressure that forces others to the ground and buildings to collapse. The ring you took off was my reiatsu suppressor. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you before. If I did, this wouldn't have happened. As a way to make up to you, I'll be the one to be 'it.'" With that said, Satsuki started to chase after Yoruichi who was sitting on a rock laughing at what had happened to Ichigo.

Yoruichi quickly used shunpo to run away when she saw Satsuki coming after her. Ichigo stared after the two of them, slightly shocked as he found his eyes could hardly keep up with their speed. Urahara appeared beside Ichigo, "Those two would be at it for hours, so you and I can take a rest," Uarahara smiled. "Everytime we play tag, it always ends up with Satsuki chasing after Yoruichi or vice versa. It seems us non-nobles are too slow for them."

"So you guys have been playing tag since when?" Ichigo asked curiously.

Urahara thought for a moment, "Since... I don't know. How old is Satsuki again?"

"180."

"Ah, that's right. Then we've been playing tag since 165 years ago."

"What? That means Satsuki first played tag when she was 15... which means she was only a toddler then. And she was playing tag with two captains."

"I was the slowest out of us three," Urahara admitted sadly. "When Yoruichi and I were exiled a hundred years ago, the first thing she said to me was, 'Now we can't play tag any more.' I don't blame her, she was only around 80 years old."

Ichigo looked around as if searching for something, ""Where is TenTen?"

"Oh, TenTen gets bored easily so she's probably already returned to Satsuki's inner world already."

30 minutes had passed before Urahara suddenly stood up, "The only way I know for them to stop playing tag is when one of them loses interest in the game."

"But they've been at it for half an hour. What would make them lose interest?"

Urahara smiled and pulled out his phone and called someone. Ichigo could only hear Urahara's side of the conversation, "Satsuki and Yoruichi are playing tag again... Yes, I knew it was going to happen but it's been a century since we last played tag and besides, it's part of training...You can come? That's great!..OK, see you in a few." Urahara pocketed his phone with a satisfied smile.

"Who were you talking to?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Byakuya Kuchiki," Urahara answered and climbed up the ladder to his shop. "Want to come help me prepare, Kurosaki-kun? Those two are not going to pay you any attention."

Ichigo shrugged and followed Urahara.

The two girls were too into the game to realise that the pair of boys had left them.

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End note: That's chapter 15 everyone! I hoped you liked it. Since there's a very low possibility that i will post on the 1st of January, 2011 I will like to say this now. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE~ Please continue to read my story in the upcoming year. I will try to start another story. Maybe a sequel to this one... Anyways, until next time~


	16. Timeout

A/N: Wah! I'm so sorry for the late update. It's been like a week since i last posted TT-TT I've been very busy these days _ I will try to update faster. This chapter hasn't been proof-read, so if you find any mistakes, don't blame my editor Ichiban Bakayarou, blame me instead. On a more happier note, my friend MsMifuyu has finally started writing her fanfiction~ Please go read it because it is absolutely awesome! Anyway, enjoy this chapter~ ^^

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Chapter 16 – Time-out

"Kuchiki-san, Rukia-chan," Urahara waved cheerfully at the siblings.

"Where is the entrance to the training area?" Byakuya asked after greeting the shopkeeper.

Urahara gestured to follow him to the entrance. When they arrived at the room containing the entryway, they found Ichigo sitting against the wall.

"Hi Rukia, Byakuya," Ichigo greeted.

Byakuya sighed, long given up on telling Ichigo to address him by his family name, and turned to Urahara.

"How long have they been playing tag for?"

"About an hour," Urahara answered.

Byakuyanodded and started to climb down to the underground area with the other three following after him.

The captain scanned the vast area in front of him. His eyes finally found the two girls who were still chasing each other at lightning-fast speed.

"Looks like we made it," Byakuya said. Something is off... Byakuya thought when he noticed Satsuki's reiatsu.

Ichigo looked at him, "What do you mean by 'we made it'?"

The captain ignored him so Urahara decided to answer for him. "When Yoruichi and Satsuki-chan play tag for a long time, they tend to get carried away and-"

His sentence was interrupted by an ear-piercing clash. The group turned to see that satsuki had drawn her sword and had already used it to shatter a nearby boulder into a million pieces.

The female captain then started to run toward Yoruichi. She swung her sword but Yoruichi grabbed her wrist to stop the attack. Satsuki frowned slightly but then dropped her sword. Her left hand darted out to catch the hilt and proceeded to jab at the other girl's stomach.

Yoruichi used Shunpo to get away from her opponenet. She landed a few metres away with her hands on her hips and grinning at Satsuki, "I nearly forgot you are ambidextrous."

Satsuki returned the comment with a grin and sent a wave of lethal black feathers flying toward the tan-skinned girl. Yoruichi jumped and closed the space between the two girls in a blink of an eye. Yoruichi swung her foot and kicked Satsuki in the stomach.

Just as Yoruichi'sfoot was going to connect with her stomach, Satsuki used Shunpo to land behind Yoruichi. She immediately turned around to face Satsuki and aimed a punch at Satsuki's face. Satsuki quickly ducked and attempted to behead her opponent. Yoruichi leaned back so she only received a small gash on her neck. She swung her leg to try and trip Satsuki but the female captain disappeared.

Yoruichi looked around but couldn't find the girl. A shadow suddenly loomed over her so she instinctively jumped aside. In the next second, the ground where Yoruichi was standing before was upturned as a thin, black sword stabbed into the ground. Satsuki tutted at missing her targtet. She proceeded to charge toward Yoruichi.

"Satsuki," Byakuya's soft but menacing voice reached Satsuki's ears and she came to an abrupt stop.

Her gaze landed on Byakuya and her face immediately lit up. "byakuya," Satsuki smiled and started to run toward him, Yoruichi forgotten.

Yoruichi used Shunpo to get to Urahara's side, "It was just getting interesting, why did you stop us?"

"It wasn't me, it was him," Urahara defended himself and pointed at Byakuya.

"But you were the one that called him," Yoruichi said.

Urahara shrugged but stayed quiet.

"When did you guys get here?" Satsuki asked the siblings standing in front of her.

"Urahara asked Nii-sama to come here," Rukia answered.

Satsuki tilted her head, "Why would he do that?"

"So that Nii-sama could stop you before you destroy this place."

"Anyone care for some tea?" Urahara asked the crowd.

"Only if it doesn't contain any strange concoctions," Satsuki said half joking and half serious. Who knew what the ex-12th division captain would put in the drinks?

Urahara laughed and started to climb the stairs.

Ten munutes later, everyone was seated at a low table with a steaming cup of tea in front of them.

Satsuki eyes her cup suspiciously for a while and then took a little sip. "It tastes...normal," Satsuki said.

"Don't sound so shocked Satsuki-chan," Urahara huffed.

Satsuki placed her cup back on the table and looked at Ichigo, "I was thinnking...maybe you and your friends shouldn't be involved in this."

"Say what?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"This all started because I let Leila survive so of course I should be the once to fix this. You humans don't need to be involved," Satsuki said determindly.

Ichigoopened his mouth to argue but was cut-off by Satsuki saying, "Please tell me how you can take part in this battle if you cannot even stand up properly when I don't have my ring on?"

"How are you supposed to defeat Leila and all her subordinates? When Rukia, Byakuya, Ulquiorra and I went up against Leila last time, we were all badly injured." Ichigo retorted.

"I have my ways," Satsuki said simply.

"You're not planning to go by yourself, right?" Rukia suddenly asked.

Satsuki looked down at her hands.

Rukia widened her eyes, "You are!"

"Like I keep saying, this problem started because of me..." Satsuki mumbled.

Rukia stared at her in disbelief and then turned to her brother, "You're not going to let her go to Hueco Mundo, right, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya looked at Satsuki's determined expression but then his eyes focused on her neck. His eyebrow rose ever so slightly, "Satsuki, where is your necklace?"

Satsuki's hand flew to her neck, "Oh, it's nothing. I just took it off and replaced it with this." She raised her hand to show Byakuya her silver ring.

Byakuya's eyebrow rose even higher. "No wonder your reiatsu feels different," Byakuya said simply and stared at the cup of tea in front of him. After a moment of silence Byakuyaopened his mouth, "I suppose Satsuki's decision is right."

"What?" Rukia and Ichigo shouted at the same time.

"Nii-sama, please change your mind. You can't possibly let Satsuki Nee-chan go to Hueco Mundo alone," Ryukia said incredulously.

Byakuya looked at Rukia with cold eyes, "Of course I'm not going to let her go by herself. I'll be going with Satsuki."

Satasuki stared at Byakuya, "You can't be serious!"

"I need to take responsibility for your actions as well."

"Why do you need to take responsibility for her actions?" Ichigo asked while reaching for his tea.

"Eh? Didn't I tell you, Ichigo?" Rukia gasped.

Ichigo merely raised an eyebrow and proceeded to drink all the tea in one go.

"Satsuki Nee-chan and Nii-sama are married."

Ichigo chocked on his tea, "What did you just say?"

"They are married. You know, husband and wife?" Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Then what about you're sister, Hisana?" Ichigo asked Rukia.

"Oh ,please don't misunderstand. We are only married because it was our parents' and, in Byakuya's case, grandparents' decision," Satsuki said with a helpless smile. "The decision was made before we were born." Satsuki's facial expression suddenly turned serious, "Now, back to the main point, I will say it again. You Karakuraguardians are not coming with us to Hueco Mundo."

"My friends and I won't go to Hueco Mundo with you," Ichigo repeated without thinking. Wait...why the hell am I listening to her? Ichigo wondered feeling perplexed.

Rukia immediately turned to Satsuki with a frown, "That was unfair! You used your zanpakutou powers!"

"Oh, look, night has already fallen," Satsuki commented, completely ignoring Rukia. She stood up and patted imaginary dust off her Shihakushou. "I feel like a nice, long shower after all that running around. I'm going home for the night but I'll be back inn the morning to train again. Bye Bye everyone," Satsuki waved to everyone as she walked out the door.

…

"I miss the hot spring we have back at the manor," Satsuki mumbled as she stepped out of the bathroom. She walked downstairs to the kitchen and saw that Rukia was also in the kitchen.

"Nee-chan," Rukia called out when she saw Satsuki come downstairs.

"Yes?" The elder of the two answered as she got herself a glass of water.

"Can I go to Hueco Mundo as well?" Rukia asked hesitantly.

Satsuki looked at Rukia as she took a sip of her water. "Depends if you can stand my reiatsu. Come with me to Urahara's tomorrow and if you can stand my reiatsu, you can go..."

"Thank you, Nee-chan!"

"I wasn't finished! You can go only if you're brother lets you." Satsuki downed her glass of water and proceeded to head outside, "I'll be going to a walk around the neighbourhood so don't wait for me for dinner."

Once outside, Satsuki looked at the house next to hers and walked toward it.

She opened the door to find two men talking to each other. One had black, spiky hair and brown eyes and the other had short, silver-coloured hair and was wearing glasses.

"I'm sorry, but the clinic is-" The man with the spiky hair started saying but then stopped when he saw Satsuki. He immediately broke into a large, goofy grin, "I was starting to think you weren't going to come here, Satsuki -chan."

Satsuki smiled back at him and bowed respectfully, "Isshin-dono, I thank you deeply for agreeing to my request." She looked at the silver-haired man, "You must be Ryuuken Ishida-san, I am honoured to meet you."

"I've known you since you were born, Satsuki-chan, so don't be so formal." Isshin said with a frown.

Satsuki looked at Ryuuken slightly skeptically, "Are you sure he can stand my reiatsu?"

Isshin shrugged, "We should try that now."

"But won't there be consequences?"

"Don't worry about that. Just take your ring off and immediately put it back on."

Satsuki nodded and slipped her ring off. Her eyes slightly widened as she saw that her large reiatsu had no effect of the two males standing in front of her. Satsuki slipped her ring back on and smiled, "I'm going to Urahara's again tomorrow, so can you help me train then?"

"I am not stepping into that shinigami's training area," Ryuuken announced calmly, crossing his arms.

"If you won't go there then where do you suppose we hold the training session?" Satsuki asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"At my training area located at the Karakura Hospital."

"Aw, don't be like that, Ryuuken, it's not going to kill you. I mean, you're already helping a shinigami, so what harm will it do to go to Urahara's place?"

Ryuuken stared at Isshin coldly and then at Satsuki.

"You're help is absolutely essential, Ryuuken-dono. I need as many strong opponents as possible when I am doing this training."

"I still don't know why you need to train. What are you trying to obtain from this training session? Kurosaki failed to tell me."

"Learn and master my bankai."

"Eh? But didn't you already learn bankai nearly a century ago?" Isshinasked with a shocked expression.

"I kind of... forgot it when I sealed TenTen's powers..." Satsuki said looking down at her feet.

"Then how did you become a captain?"

"I showed Yamamoto-Soutaichou my bankai ages ago. When I declined the offer to become a captain, the offer was put on hold. When I decided to become a captain again, Soutaichou let me become one even though he knows I've forgotten my bankai because my shikai is already really powerful."

"The old man sure is generous," Isshin commented.

"It's not the first time this has happened. The 11th division captain, Zaraki Kenpachi, doesn't even know his own zanpakutou's name, let alone his bankai."

Satsuki turned to Ryuuken, "I do not wish to force you there with my zanpakutou's power."

Ryuuken sighed, "Fine, but I will only stay there for a day. After that time, I am not helping you anymore."

Satsuki gave him a small smile, "Of course, Ryuuken-dono. Then please go to Urahara's shop in...two days. I think that should be enough for me to learn my bankai. Isshin-dono, I will see you tomorrow morning. Now then, I have a full moon to admire, so I shall take my leave." With that, she bowed to the two men and walked out of the clinic.

* * *

End Note: For those who don't know or forgotten, a Shihakushou is the name of the shinigami uniform and Ryuuken Ishida is Uryuu Ishida's dad. =D Hopefully, the next chapter will be up very, very soon~ Until next time. ^^


	17. More training

A/N: I updated super fast this time... well in my opinion anyways^^ This chapter was checked by Ichiban Bakayarou. So if you find mistakes, go blame him. =P

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Chapter 17 – More Training

Satsuki groaned, opened her eyes and sat up. She frowned when she took in her surroundings. Everywhere she looked there was grass and different type of flowers. It was as is she was in someone's private garden. The plants swayed to and fro but there was no breeze. She looked up and saw a vast, night sky filled with infinite amounts of stars and a shining, full moon.

"Wow, this brings back memories," Satsuki murmured.

"I agree, its been 85 years since you're inner world looked like this," TenTen said, appearing beside her owner. "I forgot how beautiful this place was. It's the complete opposite to the one you had when my power was sealed."

Satsuki took in the scenery that was actually her inner world. "How did I end up here? I thought I was training in the real world?"

"Try to remember what happened around ten minutes ago," TenTen suggested with a small smile.

"Ten minutes ago..." Satsuki mumbled while thinking back.

Flashback start.

Yoruichi aimed a roundhouse kick at Satsuki's stomach but the female captain jumped aside and swiped her sword in an attempt to cut off Yoruichi's leg. Yoruichi used shunpo to get away from her. For a split second, Satsuki wondered why the other girl ran away from her. Her question was answered a second later when she heard Urahara's voice shouting, "Nake, Benihime!"

A crimson-coloured blast similar to Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou came crashing toward Satsuki. Satsuki immediately jumped aside to escape the attack.

Before she even had a chance to regain her balance, a shower of arrows from the quincy, Ryuuken, was aimed at her. Satsuki countered the attack by sending a bunch of feathers in the direction the arrows came from. The two attacks collided in the space between shinigami and quincy, creating an explosion that enveloped everyone in the training area with smoke.

Standing in the middle of the smoke, Satsuki suddenly saw a flash of pink that didn't come from her ribbon and immediately wrapped her wings around her body, using it as armour. A sound resembling to pelting rain assaulted Satsuki's ears as Byakuya's Senbonzakura Kageyoshi made contact with Satsuki's wings. The 'rain' lasted a minute and Satsuki refolded her wings.

A certain tanned girl appeared in front of Satsuki with a raised fist, ready to strike Satsuki's face. Satsuki jumped back to dodge the punch. While in the air, another wave of Senbonzakura combined with hundreds upon thousands of light blue arrows were aimed at Satsuki. She spread her wings again, but this time she didn't use it as a shield. Instead, she flapped her wings and flew out of harm's way. "They are wings, after all," Satsuki allowed herself a little smile.

The grin was wiped off her face when something wrapped around her neck and pulled her out of the air and onto the ground. Looking down at her neck, she realised the object was a thin, black tail. She looked above her and saw the tail's owner was Ulquiorra who was in his second level of sword release. Satsuki tutted and raised her katana to try and cut the tail. To her surprise, the tail was tougher than she expected and her sword was unable to cut through it. Ulquiorra's tail uncoiled around Satsuki's neck and Sastsuki stood up.

"Getsuga Tenshou," Satsuki heard Isshin yell and a moment later, the attack came rushing toward her. She used shunpo to get away from the destructive technique...and bumped into something. Satsuki turned around in alarm and saw the person she had collided with was Isshin.

"You're movements are too predictable, Satsuki-chan," Isshin gave her a grin and raised a fist. The hand connected with her head with a loud smack and Satsuki was overcome by dizzyness.

Isshin watched, shocked, as Satsuki's eyes fluttered shut, "That wasn't meant to happen! Whenever I attack Ichigo, he ends up fine!"

"Goukei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

Satsuki managed a small smile before she gave herself into unconsciousness.

Flashback end.

Satsuki rubbed the side of her head where Isshin had struck her, A little bump had already formed, but with a quick use of her power, the swelling disappeared.

"We would be the worst enemy to come across," TenTen said proudly.

"Why is that? Satsuki stood up and looked at her zanpakutou with a raised eyebrow.

"Every time you get hurt, you just heal yourself with a wish. You're practically invincible. You'll win every fight."

"If I am able to win every battle, please explain to me why I was knocked out by Isshin?"

TenTen shrugged, "You're still training, once you learn Bankai, you'll be undefeatable for sure."

"I'm not sure about that, nothing goes my way. I thought I would learn Bankai in two days, but it's already been four days and I still haven't achieved it yet," Satsuki sighed. "I don't even know why I'm doing this. I'm pretty certain I'll still win against Leila even if I only have my shikai."

TenTen shook her head, "You mustn't think that. Leila has developed her own powers. We can't leave anything to chance."

Satsuki sat down and started picking the flowers around her.

I should probably give her a hint, TenTen thought. She sighed again and said, "Maybe you should change your way of thinking."

Satsuki looked up, "what do you mean by that?"

"What did you say not long after you woke up here?"

"..." Satsuki tried to think back to what had happened since she woke up but couldn't think of anything significant so she shook her head.

It almost feels like I'm talking to a 90 year-old Satsuki-sama again. TenTen said, "You said, 'Nothing goes my way'."

Satsuki stared at her, "And...?"

TenTen rolled her eyes, "You're meant to work it out yourself."

"But I'm running out of time," Satsuki couldn't refrain herself from whining.

"There's still... Oh my God, you're right, you need to head to Hueco Mundo tomorrow," TenTen gasped.

"I told you so," Satsuki said happily. "Now, tell me how to obtain my bankai, please," She said in her sweetest voice and handed TenTen a necklace made of flowers woven together.

"Sorry, no can do. You're smart, Satsuki-sama. Just think about what my power lets you do and you'll learn your bankai soon enough." TenTen pulled Satsuki off the floor, "Now, go and kick their ass, Satsuki-sama!"

…

"Hey, Yuzu, Karin, have you seen our old man? He seems to have vanished," Ichigo rested on hand on his hip and ran his other hand through his orange hair.

The twins shook their heads. "The last time I saw him was four days ago, I think." Karin said and then turned back to the TV.

Ichigo glanced at the screen. It was live broadcasting a soccer match. His gaze then went to a yellowish-orange object beside Yuzu that looked like a lion wearing a red polka dot dress. The plushy, aka Kon, turned his head slightly and, using its eyes, begged Ichigo to take him away from his sister and back to the safety of Ichigo's room.

Ichigo looked at Kon and mouthed, "Maybe later." After he said that he headed to his room.

"I wonder where the old man went," Ichigo wondered out loud as he laid on his bed.

"He's at Urahara's place training Nee-chan," Rukia's voice came from the closet.

Ichigo jumped, "When did you get into my closet? I thought you live next door now."

Rukia shrugged, "I felt like it."

Ichigo stared at her, "Why do you look so grumpy?"

She blinked, "I am not grumpy."

"Yea, and I smile 24/7," Ichigo retorted while rolling his eyes.

Rukia glared at Ichigo, "I'm not allowed to go to Hueco Mundo with Nee-chan, Nii-sama and Ulquiorra."

"Why?"

"Same as you. I can't even stand up when she takes off her ring. Apparently Ulquiorra can, so he can go."

"I don't get why Byakuya and Ulquiorra can go. I mean, they got their ass kicked pretty badly the last time we went up against Leila." Ichigo sat up and leaned against the wall.

"Nee-chan told me that Nii-sama and Ulquiorra's job is to deal with Leila's subordinates. When she kills Leila, then all the wishes she's made will disappear so hopefully all the Arrancar will return to normal hollows."

Ichigo nodded and stared at the sky. He then turned to Rukia with a rare smile on his face, "I've got an idea on how to go to Hueco Mundo."

"But didn't Nee-chan use her power on you?"

"She did but she said 'You can't go with us to Hueco Mundo, so..."

"All we have to do is find a way to go there ourselves," Rukia finished excitedly.

"Exactly," Ichigo said, "I'm so smart."

"Of course you are," Rukia rolled her eyes.

…

"Yes" Satsuki cheered happily. "I've finally learnt my bankai!" She looked at the unconscious people around her, "Uh...oops?"

"I think you should wake them up," TenTen suggested as she walked toward her master.

"True, and I should heal them while I'm at it." Satsuki mumbled.

A minute later, the five people all sat up at once.

"That was awesome, Satsuki-chan," Isshin was the first to talk. He gave the girl one of his biggest smiles.

"I agree, you will definitely defeat Leila with your bankai, no exceptions," Urahara stood up and dusted off his hat.

"Looks like staying here and training you was worth it," Ryuuken said while nodding.

Satsuki smiled and bowed, "thank you all for helping me get my bankai back."

"Aw, don't be so formal, Satsuki," Yoruichi reached out and took the pink ribbon that was holding Satsuki's hair back. Her long, wavy hair tumbled down and she gave a surprised yelp.

"Yoruichi!" Satsuki shouted, "Give me back my ribbon!"

The tanned girl immediately gave the ribbon back to her while saying, "You're using your zanpakutou powers again! That's not fair!"

Satsuki huffed and retied her hair into a ponytail. After doing that, Satsuki sheathed her sword, "There, are you happy now?"

"Much happier," Yoruichi smiled. "You're reaction is almost the same as Byakuya's when he was younger. When I stole his ribbon, he used to get so angry. It was so funny," Yoruichi laughed at the memory while completely ignoring Byakuya's icy glare.

"Ah! It's already seven o' clock. I must hurry back, it's been four days since I've had dinner with my cute daughters and son," Isshin exclaimed.

"Ichigo? Cute?" Satsuki tried to suppress her laughter to no avail.

"Well, Satsuki-chan and others, I shall be going now. Good luck with defeating Leila," Isshin said in a singsong voice as he climbed out of the training area.

"I shall be leaving as well. I've stayed in this place long enough," Ryuuken said as he followed Isshin.

"Ah, yes, thank you for these past few days," Satsuki bowed to the retreating quincy. She turned to Urahara, "Is the Garganta ready?"

"Of course it is, do you not believe in me?" Urahara joked. "Anyways, anyone want some dinner? Teesai's dishes are absolutely delicious."

Satsuki looked at Byakuya and Ulquiorra and then back at the shopkeeper, "Ok, just make sure..."

"There's no strange concoctions in it," Urahara rolled his eyes. He climbed out of the training area and the others followed suit.

…

"Yuzu! Karin! Ichigo!" Isshin shouted as he opened the front door and strepped inside. "Oh, why are you standing there, Ichi-guh!" Halfway through his sentence, he was kicked in the stomach by Ichigo. He flew through the air, only stopping when he collided with the closed door with an earth-shattering bang.

"What the hell are you thinking, old man, suddenly disappearing for four whole days? You got us all friggin worried, thinking you were eaten by a hollow or something!" Ichigo yelled at his father.

"Aw, my favourite son is worried about me. I'm so happy!"

"I'm your only son, you idiot." Ichigo gave Isshin a glare that normally sent people running off in the opposite direction but somehow had not effect on his immature father. He turned around to head back to his room.

Isshin started at his retreating son and then thought of something. He stood up and punched Ichigo's head. The teenager stumbled and then turned around to glare at his father, "Why the hell did you do that for?"

Isshin scratched his head. "Wierd, you're completely fine so how come Satsuki-chan fainted? Maybe there is a bigger difference between boys and girls than I thought. Hm, I gotta watch over my two lovely daughters more from now on," he said to himself as he walked toward the kitchen.

Ichigo stared at his father, then shook his head and went to his room.

"What did Urahara say?" Rukia poked her head out of Ichigo's closet when she heard the bedroom door close.

"He said he would keep the garganta open for us," Ichigo replied. "But not for a long time because he needs to work on other stuff."

Rukia frowned, "Like what?"

"He said he's going to make preparations in case Satsuki fails."

"Nee-chan won't fail...I hope. She's the only one who can defeat Leila, considering all Leila has to do to defeat us is to wish for it," Rukia said feeling slightly worried.


	18. Las Noches

A/N: Hello everyone~ Even though i tried, i still couldn't update twice in the same week... I'm sorry TT^TT This chapter was checked by Ichiban Bakayaro, so if you find mistakes, go blame him. ^^ Ichiban Bakayaro has recently started writing a story called Opposing Harmony, Ichigo and Rukia are the main characters in that fanfic. Oh, and i'm his editor... can't believe he trusts me in editing his stories. =P Anyway, i should shut up. Enjoy~

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Chapter 18 – Las Noches

Satsuki stared at the huge hole in front of her and took a deep breath. She looked at Urahara, who was standing next to the Garganta, "Well, wish us luck."

Urahara smiled and nodded. Satsuki took another breath and walked toward the Garganta with a determined expression, flanked by Byakuya and Ulquiorra. She started to create a stable, while pathway by solidifying the torrential energy around them.

A short time after the three stepped inside the Garganta, two figures came out of their hiding spot behind a boulder.

"We really appreciate this, Urahara," Rukia said as she walked toward the Garganta.

"Yes, yes, I know. Now hurry up and go, I can't keep this open for a long time," Urahara said while handing something to Rukia. "When you eat these pills, you will be immune to Satsuki's reiatsu."

Rukia and Ichigo nodded their thanks, swallowed the pill and stepped into the Garganta.

…

"Are you sure this is Las Noches?" Satsuki eyed the building in front of her. "It's...plainer than I expected," she looked around but all she could see were white buildings. She then turned to the large door in front of them and pushed it open.

The interior of the buildings had the same design as the outside: white upon white upon endless stretch of white. Satsuki pointed to the corridor in front of them, "I'll go that way to search for Leila." Then she pointed at the corridor to their left, "You two go that way and distract the hollows so they won't interfere with my fight with Leila. The arrancar are most likely weak as Leila believes her power alone is able to defeat any enemy so there shouldn't be any problems when dealing with them."

"We've already debriefed the plan before we came here so there's no need to remind us," Byakuya stated.

"Right," Satsuki bit her lip. "Well then, see you two later," with that, she walked slightly hesitantly away from the two men.

"Satsuki," Satsuki turned upon hearing her name. Byakuya flashed her a small, reassuring smile, "Everything will go as planned so don't worry."

Satsuki nodded and smiled as well before continueing down the hall. She heard the other two walk down the corridor to her left. Satsuki sighed, "I'm on my own now."

_You're not alone, Satsuki-sama,_ Tenten's voice appeared in Satsuki's head.

You were so quiet I forgot about you for a moment, Satsuki joked while letting her feet lead her to Leila.

TenTen huffed, _I was trying to give you and Byakuya-sama some alone time._

Well you don't need to. You should know better than anyone else, Byakuya and I are not romantically involved. We are only married because our elders wanted it.

_You just keep telling yourself that, Satsuki-sama._

It's the truth. No-one can possibly replace Hisana's spot in Byakuya's heart.

_You never know, people change._

Satsuki sighed, why are we even having this conversation?

_To kill time, hollows won't come to you and it's a long way to Leila,_ TenTen replied without hesitating. _C'mon, Satsuki-sama, I really want you to be happy. If you two aren't romantically involved, then why don't you two just get a divorce?_

That would ruin the reputation of the Yamane and Kuchiki clan, Satsuki replied with a horrifired tone.

_Excuses, excuses, _TenTen tutted. _Just admit it, you enjoy Byakuya-sama's company and think of him more than a childhood friend._

Oh, look, we're here, Satsuki stopped outside the entrance leading to a large hall. Without hesitating, she walked inside.

…

"...591...592..." Byakuya counted under his breath as he and Ulquiorra walked into a large, empty room. "...596...597..." He continured counting. The two of them stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. The captain placed his hand on his sword. "...600," Byakuya finished.

At the same time, Byakuya counted to 600 seconds, arrancars of each and every size and appearance started spilling out of the shadows. It took the hollows only 3 seconds to surround the two men, but they were unfazed.

"The hollows really did show up at exactly 10 minutes after we split up with Yamane-taichou," Ulquiorra said with slightly widened eyes.

"Do you not trust my wife, Ulquiorra?" Byakuya retorted with a steely edge in his voice.

"I have complete faith in her," Ulquiorra replied quickly.

Byakuya eyed the hollows around them and swiftly pulled out his zanpakutou, "Chire, Senbonzakura." The katana blade scattered into thousands of pieces and flew steadily toward the enemies in front of him. Every arrancar were killed on the spot in the zanpakutou's wake.

Ulquiorra raised a hand and pointed at the arrancars. "Cero," he said and a green beam shot out of his finger, destroying everything in its path.

A few minutes of using Senbonzakura and a couple more shots of Cero later, all the enemies were annihilated. Just like Satsuki had said, all the arrancar were easy opponents.

…

"Is it just me, or is this place completely empty?" Ichigo asked as he and Rukia ran down the empty hallways. "Do you think Leila moved house or something?"

"The second espada, Baraggan Luisenbarn, owns this place so maybe Leila chose another location to live in," Rukia answered. "But if he owns this place, wouldn't there be at least one or two guards?"

"Considering Leila's personality, I would think that she came here, used that annoying power of hers and wished that he was dead or something and then take over Las Noches."

"True, but that still doesn't explain why this place is empty. Hey, I think I just saw something white over there," Rukia pointed to her left side and they changed direction. They ran into a bright room and realised the flash of white Rukia saw was actually Byakuya's captain haori. Various hollows were disintegrating around them so it was obvious they just finished fighting.

"Uh...hi, Nii-sama," Rukia bit her lip. Why didn't I pay more attention to where Nii-sama was? This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, Rukia repeated in her head. He had specifically told me not to come to Hueco Mundo. She couldn't begin to imagine how angry her brother was.

Byakuya glanced at his sister but said nothing.

"Yamane-taichou was right again," Ulquiorra said quietly.

"What? What was Satsuki right about?" Ichigo asked.

"She told us that you would come to Hueco Mundo."

"Psh, she probably heard it from Urahara," Ichigo rolled his eyes.

Ulquiorra shook his head, "Urahara didn't tell us anything."

An immense pressure suddenly appeared around them that nearly made Ichigo and Rukia fall to their knees if not for Urahara's reiatsu resistant pill.

"What? This is... Satsuki's reiatsu? It's different to before," Ichigo exclaimed.

"Hurry up, we need to follow the plan," Byakuya announced and started walking away. Rukia and Ichigo looked at Uilquiorra with confused expressions.

"We need to go find Yamane-taichou," Ulquiorra explained and the three of them followed the six division captain.

…

"The least you could do was knock," Leila glared at Satsuki from across the large room, resting against the sill of an arch-shaped window.

"How am I supposed to knock when there is no door? And this isn't even your room," Satsuki retorted.

"You could improvise," Leila suggested. "Anyway, what do you want from me now? I'm stuck here so its obvious I'm not doing any harm."

"Oh really? Then please explain to me why there's been an increase in hollow activity in the Human World and Soul Society?"

"How should I know? I'm not in charge of every hollow in Hueco Mundo."

"Then tell me why all the hollows in question are Arrancar? I'm pretty sure the only one capable of ordering the Arrancar around is you," Satsuki drew her sword. In a blink of an eye, the sword transformed into a pair of black wings on Satsuki's back. A sword made of feathers formed in Satsuki's open hand and she pointed it at Leila, "I'm sorry, but considering all the things you've done to me, my friends and everyone else in the Human World and Soul Socitey, I feel the need to eliminate you. Leila, you will die today."

The two girls stared at each other for a full minute before Satsuki sighed and lowered her sword, "Let me guess, you wished that I couldn't kill you by wishing for it."

"Even an idiot would know that wishing for my death will be the first thing you would try when you meet me again, so of course I needed to take certain precautions," Leila grinned.

Satsuki shrugged, "Then I suppose I have no choice but to use my bankai to defeat you then."

"Bankai?" Leila frowned. When she stole Satsuki's power, the zanpakutou was only capable of doing shikai.

"You don't know what bankai is?" Satsuki asked, mistaking Leila's confusion.

"Of course I know what bankai is. That raven-haired man and that orange-haired boy used bankai when they fought me last time."

"Before I draw my bankai, I'll give you a chance to surrender. Once I use my bankai, you will die, you know," Satsuki warned. Sh*t, I don't know if my bankai will defeat her. She defeated Ichigo and Byakuya when they used their bankai, so maybe my bankai has no effect on Leila as well, Satsuki thought.

_Stop thinking negatively! You beat Urahara-sama, Yoruichi-sama, Ulquiorra-sama, Byakuya-sama, Isshin-sama and Ryuuken all at the same time. You'll be fine, _TenTen reassured her master.

Leila rolled her eyes and unknowingly said what Satsuki was thinking, "I beat your friends even when they used their bankai, so what makes you think the same thing won't happen to you?"

She can read my mind, Satsuki panicked but somehow maintained a nonchalant expression on her face.

_Calm down, Satsuki-sama, you sound like it is the first time you're on the battle field._ TenTen said, sounding a bit unhappy. _Toughen up, jeez..._

"You will regret this," Satsuki warned.

A pair of dirty-white wings appeared on Leila's back. The wings resembled devil's wings. Leila frowned slightly, "Even though I have my own powers now, they are still similar to yours."

"Even if you are an arrancar, shikai won't be enough to defeat my bankai. Last chance, Leila, surrender or die," Satsuki said and then frowned at how cliché that sounded. I've been watching too much anime... Satsuki tutted at herself.

Leila glared at Satsuki. The female captain shrugged, "I'll take that as a 'no,' then." Satsuki took a deep breath and then looked at Leila in the eye, "Bankai."

Leila raised an eyebrow, "That's you're bankai" She stared at Satsuki.

The wings on Satsuki's back were still there and the katana was still in her hand. Nothing had changed. Satsuki still looked the same.

"Is this a joke?" Leila frowned.

"Why would we trick you?" A female voice said. Leila saw for the first time that a girl in a black and white kimono was still standing beside Satsuki.

"You!" Leila's eyes narrowed as she immediately recognised the girl.

"Kurayami no Tenshi at your service," TenTen smiled brightly.

Satsuki reached for the silver ring around her forefinger. In one swift movement, the reiatsu-restraining device was off. Satsuki smiled at her zanpakutou, "Why don't you tell us all a story?"

TenTen smiled knowing and cleared her throat, "One day, a princess called Satsuki and her... companion, Kurayami no Tenshi, met a girl called Leila..."

…

"So what's Satsuki's bankai? It must be awesome since she kicked your, Byakuya, Yoruichi, Urahara, my and Ryuuken's ass combined," Ichigo asked Ulquiorra while they ran to where Satsuki was.

"Yamane-taichou's bankai lets her able to control everything in a certain amount of space," Ulquiorra said. "Well, that's one of the abilities."

"She has more than one bankai ability?" Ichigo thought about how he only learnt one technique from Zengetsu; Getsuga Tenshou.

Ulquiorra nodded, "I'm not sure about her other techniques since she only used that one to defeat us."

"How did she beat you with that technique? If she can control everything in a certain amount of space, did she just say, 'You will all be defeated by me' or something like that?"

"In that technique, TenTen appears and she acts as the narrator. Once she starts telling a 'story,' you have no choice but to act it out."

They arrived at a large, empty hall just as something collided against the wall beside them, creating a mini crater in the wall, and slumped to the ground. When they looked closer, they realised it was Leila.

…

Leila eyed the four newcomers and stoop up, placing a hand on the wall for support. She was about to say something but a coughing fit interrupted her. She pressed her hand against her mouth as she coughed. When she removed her hand from her mouth, the palm was covered in blood. What the hell is happening? Leila thought as she mended her injuries with her power. I can't stop myself from acting out that story. Her gaze landed on TenTen and she immediately though, I have to make her shut up!

As she thought that, she used sonido to arrive at TenTen's side. She swung her spear at her, only realising TenTen's nonchalant expression until too late. Her spear went though TenTen but the zanpakutou's expression didn't change. Leila looked down at where her spear went through TenTen's heart. But she found no wound and no blood. Instead, she realised the place where the spear was supposed to pierce TenTen was slightly rippling, as if TenTen was only a reflection on the water's surface.

"I'm sorry, but there is no chance of you making me shut up," TenTen said, she looked behind Leila and motioned to someone behind her but Leila didn't care.

Leila stood frozen on the stop. Still unable to comprehend what was happening. The spear went through TenTen's chest, so why wasn't she dead yet?

Still confused as to what was happening, Leila didn't realise Satsuki had come up to her before it was too late. Before Leila could react, Satsuki's feather-made katana went through Leila's chest.

* * *

End note: I'm sorry is this chapter seems rushed, I was trying to write this chap as fast as possible. Btw, this is not the end of the story~


	19. The coming end

A/N: SOOOOO SORRRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I've been so busy, preparing for school, unpacking my suitcases and cleaning up the house... Anyway... I had a mini break from writing and it completely killed my ability to put ideas into words, not that my brain was good at that in the first place... XP Anyway, i hope this chapter makes up for the lack of publishing. Oh and this chapter was beta-ed by Ichiban Bakayaro so if you find any mistakes, it's his fault XD  
Enjoy!

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Chapter 19 – The coming end

Everyone held their breath as a bloody flower began to bloom on Leila's chest, centimetres away from where her heart was. The blood started to slide down the black sword and staining Satsuki's hands red. Leila scowled and slowly turned her head so as not to worsen the wound on her chest. "You sly person, attacking me from behind," Leila muttered when she glared at Satsuki.

"Sneaking up and defeating hollows from behind is a basic way of fighting when faced with them," Satsuki smiled without warmth.

Leila clicked her tongue and focused on something behind Satsuki. The captain felt a chill run down her back and she and her zanpakutou immediately used Shunpo to move. In the process, Satsuki pulled her sword out of the Arrancar's chest, sprinkling the floor with more red liquid. A second after she used Shunpo to get away a single jet of purplish-black fog was aimed at her previous location, deteriorating everything around the miasma. Everything, that is, except Leila.

Somehow, the black mist circled around her, leaving her unaffected. Leila fell to her knees as blood kept gushing out from her chest injury. A purple-cloak wearing skeleton walked into the room from a hidden doorway and headed straight toward Leila. Ignoring the 2nd Espada beside her, Leila shakily stood up and pressed her palm against her injury. Closing her eyes she thought, I wish this wound would heal. After she thought that she opened her eyes and looked at her torso. Leila frowned in confusion, the injury was still there but the blood flowing out had lessened. She tried again and again, each time the wound became smaller until, on the fifth try, the injury finally disappeared.

Frustrated, Leila looked up to see Satsuki's small smirk. Leila glowered, "What did you do?"

"Nothing, you're reiatsu is just not strong enough to overwhelm mine. Fighting against shinigami is like a battle between reiatsu. If your reiatsu is weak, then you will lose," Satsuki replied nonchalantly.

"Don't look down on me," Leila growled and charged toward Satsuki with her spear back in her hand.

Meanwhile, Baraggan Luisenbarn turned to the four people. "The faster I kill you four, the faster I get my Las Noches back. So stay still and let me kill you."

"Wait, you can't do this. You'll be breaking the truce you made with the Soul Society. You can't attack us," Rukia objected loudly.

"When we are over with you, Soul Society will be no more so I don't need to worry about the consequences of violating the truce," the 2nd Espada said and sent a black wave toward them.

The four of them jumped away to escape the wave of deterioration. Ichigo cursed while unsheathing his sword. "Getsuga Tenshou," he shouted before sending his wave of condensed reiatsu toward the Espada.

The power was immediately nullified as it neared Baraggan, being deteriorated by his power. "Useless," Baraggan commented before sending a jet of miasma toward the orange head.

Ichigo unleashed his bankai and sent a black and red-coloured Getsuga Tenshou at the black mist in an attempt to stop it coming toward him. The mist was unaffected by the attack, invalidating it while rushing toward Ichigo at full speed. Ichigo donned his hollow mask, held his sword in front of him and prepared to deal with the miasma head on.

"What are you still standing there for, Baka!" Rukia grabbed Ichigo's collar and used Shunpo to get away from the deadly power. She landed at a corner of the room and punched Ichigo's face.

Ichigo's hollow mask evaporated and held his already swelling cheek. He glared at the small shinigami in front of him, "What was that for, midget?"

"What do you think? You could've died right then and there. You've got no chance against him," Rukia crossed her arms and glared right back at him.

"Have more faith in me, jeez," Ichigo mumbled. His arm dashed out and wrapped it around Rukia's waist. Rukia gave a startled yelp as Ichigo used Shunpo to get to the other side of the room. They turned to see the place where they were standing at before were reduced to dust as a blast of miasma was aimed there. "Fight now, argue later," Ichigo growled before running toward Baraggan before Rukia could stop him.

Halfway to Baraggan, something crashed into Ichigo, sending him flying to the wall so hard the wall crumbled. Ichigo stared at the black-haired girl in his lap. TenTen looked up at the orange-haired teenager and stood up. Running her hand through her long ponytail, TenTen helped Ichigo stand up and said, "Sorry, but Satsuki-sama really, really, really doesn't want you guys to participate in this battle. So please stand aside while I deal with that Espada."

Ichigo started to complain but soon shut up when he saw the expression on TenTen's face. God… that face is almost as scary as Unohana-san's 'smile', Ichigo thought while shuddering. He looked and found that the other three were standing in the corner. Rukia had a grumpy expression on her face but the two 6th division members' faces remained nonchalant. Ichigo sighed and walked over to the other three. He sat down on the floor with a loud sigh and stared at the two battles happening in front of him.

"You sure you'll be alright without your dearest zanpakutou next to you?" Leila questioned her opponent.

Satsuki gave her a cold look and slashed at Leila who in turn blocked the attack with her spear. "If you're zanpakutou isn't beside you, then the 'story' technique won't work right?" Leila smiled.

"Even without that I can still beat you," Satsuki said frostily. "I thought I told you this battle was specifically between us only and yet you let your underling attack my friends." Satsuki disappeared and reappeared behind Leila, holding the sword against the Arrancar's neck.

Leila cursed and tried to move away. With a small flick of Satsuki's wrist, a single red line appeared on Leila's neck. Leila grabbed the blade and pushed it away from her. Ignoring the blood flowing out of her palm, Leila turned at punched Satsuki in the face. Just as her fist was going to connect with her face, Satsuki ducked and landed a well-aimed kick on Leila's back that sent her flying. Unable to adjust into a landing position, Leila landed on her back and continued to roll at an incredible speed until she collided with the wall. The wall crumpled upon impact and huge boulders and rubble fell, landing on top of Leila's still body.

Satsuki looked at the mini mountain of rubble on top of Leila with mock concern, "Aw… is little Leila dead already?" She slowly walked toward Leila.

A hiss was heard as Leila tried to climb out of the debris. She pushed the rocks aside and sat slumped against one as she tried to catch her breath. After a while, she finally decided to stand up, placing a hand on a nearby boulder to steady her. Closing her eyes, she used her power to heal her injuries. This time it was easier to heal as she wasn't under the influence of Satsuki's bankai.

Once Leila was healthy again, she reached for her spear and swiped at Satsuki's face. Satsuki grabbed the spear, careful not to touch the poison-tipped blade, and pulled so that Leila couldn't help herself from stumbling toward her. The captain raised a leg and kicked Leila in one swift motion that was too quick for the eye to follow.

The Arrancar flew through the air but managed to shift her position so that she landed on her feet, albeit shakily due to the damages made by the well-aimed kick. With a roar Leila once again charged toward her enemy only to find herself greeting the wall with her face again.

With a groan, Leila realised she had trouble standing up, or even sitting up for that matter. She gritted her teeth as she climbed onto her hands and knees. Before she could move, a waraji-clad foot connected with her already sore stomach and sent her rolling to the other side of the room in record time.

"Don't think you can keep kicking me and get away from it," Leila hissed as she gathered her strength and stood up. She dashed to where Satsuki was standing and proceeded to punch her.

The next few seconds felt like an eternity.

Just as she was swinging her arm she realised the shinigami had disappeared. Still in mid-swing, Leila turned to see that Satsuki had moved to stand behind her. A quick knee to Leila's stomach sent the hollow flying into the air. In the air, Satsuki appeared behind Leila and aimed a karate chop to her neck, temporarily paralysing Leila's whole body when her nerve was struck with terrifying accuracy.

Satsuki spread her wings so that she would stay in the air. Seeing the stunned look on Leila's face, she grinned, "You didn't know these wings helped you fly? You know less about your zanpakutou than I thought."

"Shut up," Leila grumbled as she tried to regain her motor skills.

"I'm surprised you got this strong," Satsuki commented as she flapped her wings. "You know if you don't use your wings soon you might fall to your death."

"I thought I told you to shut up, you old hag," Leila spat. She gave an inward smile as she started feeling her wings but the smile quickly vanished when she saw the dark smile on Satsuki's face.

"Old? B*tch, how dare you call me that? The nerve…" Satsuki vented out her anger with a perfect left hook to Leila's scowling face.

"Thanks, I needed that," Leila grinned when she finally had access to every nerve in her system even though she had a bruise the size of a watermelon on her cheek. "You may take this as a return gift," She said and impaled Satsuki's stomach with her spear.

Satsuki froze…then disappeared. Confused, Leila looked around her to find Satsuki standing a few metres away, arms crossed and hip tilted to one side, "That was the way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihou, Utsusemi. You really thought you had me, didn't you," Satsuki gave a soft bark of laughter.

Leila roared and threw her spear at the captain as if it were a javelin. Satsuki lazily tilted her head so that the spear just missed her by a millimetre. The weapon collided with the wall but kept going until it was out of site. A second later, the whole west wall crumpled, leaving a clear view of Hueco Mundo. Satsuki whistled at the damage, "Some spear you've got. It would've been bad if I got hit, wouldn't it?"

"Stop fooling around and fight me seriously!" Leila threw another spear at Satsuki who in turn dodged it easily.

"Alright, alright, I'll take this seriously, but don't blame me when you're lying on the ground dying after… let's say, five minutes."

"I've had enough of your stupid confidence. I'll make you shut up for eternity," Leila said coldly as she lowered her stance, ready to return any attack Satsuki sent her.

"Easier said than done, Leila, easier said than done…" Satsuki's voice resounded through the room as Satsuki's form slowly faded out of sight.

…

TenTen tutted as she flew back into the air. She swooped down and swiped at Baraggan's head with her katana. But the same thing kept happening, whenever she neared Baraggan, her sword would start to crumble and the deterioration would travel up until it ate through her long kimono sleeve and eventually her hand.

TenTen flew back into the air and dropped her already deteriorating sword before her arm was affected by the power. After feeling a bearable pain in her left leg did she realise that her foot had touched the miasma. Tutting, TenTen formed another katana with her feathers and cut of her leg from the knee downwards along with the bottom of her rotting kimono.

Baraggan sent a wave of black fog at TenTen, who in turn flapped her wings to dodge it. As she flew, the fog suddenly sped up and engulfed TenTen. When the mist eventually faded, TenTen was gone.

Ichigo's eyes widened as he searched the air for TenTen but couldn't find her. "She couldn't have died so easily…right?" Ichigo asked to no-one in particular.

"Of course not, I am Satsuki-sama's zanpakutou," TenTen huffed from beside Ichigo.

He turned to see TenTen sitting against the wall, apparently with two limbs missing and breathing with difficulty. "Holy crap, are you ok?"

"Do I look ok, Baka strawberry," TenTen glared at him before closing her eyes to concentrate on healing herself.

"Is it really ok if you keep doing that? Cutting off your limbs whenever you're affected by Baraggan's power?"

"I'm a zanpakutou so all I need to do to heal is use Satsuki's abundance amount of reiatsu to recreate my physical form," TenTen explained as she opened her eyes and stood up, four limbs intact. "If you haven't noticed, it's taking a much longer time for his power to affect me than the first time. Soon, I'll be able to withstand his power and finally get a chance to beat the crap out of him." TenTen grinned before spreading her wings and flying off again.

While in midair, TenTen surveyed her surroundings and then turning to Baraggan, "Oi, you're going to reduce this place to dust if we keep on fighting here. Might I suggest we take this fight outside?"

Baraggan looked at her without emotion, which wasn't hard considering he was currently only made of bone, "You're going to end up dead, whether we fight here or outside." He proceeded to walk outside through the hole in the wall.

With a wave goodbye, Leila flew out after him.

…

"Interesting zanpakutou you've got there. It's the first time I've seen anyone able to fight Baraggan's deterioration." Leila commented as they watched two walked outside.

"Her form's made of my reiatsu so as long as I've got reiatsu, she'll be fine. Anyway, shouldn't you be worrying about yourself more?" Satsuki enquired as she looked at the girl in front of her.

Satsuki was holding Leila against the wall in midair by a single hand wrapped around the Arrancar's neck. Leila tried to escape Satsuki's grip but found it difficult taking into account the blood flowing out of Leila's arm where her forearm was suppose to connect with her elbow, the three broken ribs and an absent right wing.

"I wonder what would happen if I dropped you from here?" Satsuki wondered aloud.

Fear flashed across Leila's eyes, "You've got to be kidding me, from this height?" They were currently just under the ceiling, which was at least 200 metres above the ground.

Satsuki elegantly smiled and removed her hand from Leila's neck. For a moment, Leila felt like she was floating in the air then gave a shriek as she saw the ground race up to her.

Satsuki put her hands to her hips as she watched Leila fall. She descended slowly and landed silently in front of Leila. Satsuki kicked Leila with her foot, "Don't die on me yet, Leila, I'm not done with you yet. Let's see, the time in Soul Society, the time in Kyoto, making me lose my memories, stealing my power… oh and attacking my friends. Geez, you really are a trouble maker, aren't you."

"And you sure are a chatty b*tch," Leila mumbled. She stood up and lunged at Satsuki, sending a punch to her face.

Satsuki caught the fist in her hand before it reached her face. Maintaining a steel grip on her fist, Satsuki sent a series of lightning-fast kicks at Leila. Leila blocked the kicks with her newly regrown left hand but when a kick landed on one of her broken ribs, Leila couldn't help but wince and double up due to the pain. Satsuki watched in contentment as Leila slumped to the ground and remained unmoving

"Ne Satsuki-sama. Aren't you done fighting with her yet? I've already killed off that stuck-up Espada," TenTen called as she climbed back in through the hole.

Satsuki tilted her head and smiled in amusement, "You sure? That guy is pretty sneaky, you know? Always somehow escapes death…"

"Nah, he was reduced to dust after I was done with him. Just like I predicted, as soon as I learnt to be immune to his powers, I beat him to a bloody pulp…minus the blood since he's only a skeleton," TenTen giggled. That was the best exercise I've had in ages, she thought.

Satsuki laughed, too, "Fine, since you're done and Leila looks like she's ready for death, I'll finish her off." Satsuki raised her sword and brought it down on Leila's heart. Blood began to spill out of Leila's body.

The Arrancar's eyes opened when Satsuki started to pull her katana out. Leila reached up and grabbed the blade. "I'm not…done with…you…yet…" Leila squeezed out before the light went out of her eyes.

Satsuki stared at Leila's lifeless body and frowned. That was way too easy. No way can someone with that much power be killed so easily…

Her train of thought was interrupted by a pat on the shoulder, she turned to see that the hand belonged to TenTen, "Congratulations, Satsuki-sama, we're finally rid of that annoying brat."

Satsuki turned back to the floor in front of her and widened her eyes.

Leila.

Was.

Gone.

She turned to look at the other five, "Have any of you seen Leila? She's disappeared…"

"She probably turned into dust, hollows do that when they die," TenTen shrugged. "C'mon, let's get out of here before the other hollows arrive."

"Even if we leave now, the hollows will ambush up when we are outside. No difference," Satsuki replied.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo scratched his head.

TenTen opened her mouth but found that she was fading. She shrugged, "Sorry, looks like my time is up."

Ichigo frowned and looked at Satsuki. "It's only been a day since I've regained my bankai and I've already used it for so long so of course I'll be tired," Satsuki muttered as her eyes fluttered closed. She stared at Byakuya, "You make sure I get a chance to wake up again. If you don't…I'll put you…through…hell…" Satsuki's voice trailed off and she fell forwards.

Byakuya reached out and picked her up, bridal style. He looked at Rukia and Ichigo's confused faces and sighed, "Brace yourselves, Satsuki predicted that most of the hollows in Hueco Mundo would come rushing here after feeling so much reiatsu coming from here. And with the two strongest leaders dead, the hollows will go out of control."

As if on cue, a chorus of hollow shrieks reached their ears and they tensed, getting ready for battle.

Satsuki's eyes momentarily opened and she frowned. Was it just me, or did I just hear the sound of Leila's giggling upon the countless hollow screeches…?

* * *

End note: To be continued...


	20. Trap

A/N: I updated faster this time~ yay~ i was going to update earlier in the week... but my editor wasn't online *stares at Ichiban Bakayaro* lol jks... he's had a tough time.. trying to decipher my horrible english. ^^ Anyway~ Enjoy~

* * *

Chapter 20 – Trap

Satsuki opened her eyes a slit and a sea of light-brown filled her vision. She turned her head and saw her surroundings moving past her in the speed of light. "Hey," a voice said above her.

Satsuki looked up and saw Byakuya looking down at her. She realised the sea of brown she saw before belonged to Byakuya's neck and she realised Byakuya was carrying her bridal-style.

_Wah, Satsuki-sama is blushing!_ TenTen's singsong voice rang out in Satsuki's mind.

Satsuki buried her head in Byakuya's shoulder, I am not blushing!

_Are too! I told you that you two were more than childhood friends forced into marriage by your parents, right?_

"You ok?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah…" Satsuki refused to make eye contact with the sixth division captain.

_Oh! You admitted it!_

No I didn't! I was answering Byakuya's question!

_You just keep telling yourself that…_

Can we drop this, please? Satsuki groaned.

"If you are still feeling unwell, there is no need to force yourself. Leila's dead so our mission is completed," a tinge of concern crept into Byakuya's voice.

"No, there's nothing wrong with me," Satsuki gave him a reassuring smile. "Where are we? How long have I been unconscious for, do any of you know?"

"We're still in Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra is trying to find a place that makes it easier to open a Garganta," Byakuya explained. "About how long you've been unconscious…" Byakuya frowned. "I don't know."

"I think maybe five hours," Rukia offered. "It took us less time than we thought dealing with the hollows. There must have been at least a thousand hollows…"

"You're over exaggerating, midget. Just because everything seems big to you doesn't mean-" Ichigo was interrupted halfway through his sentence by a fist to his face. "Can't you take a joke? Stupid midget…"

Satsuki laughed quietly and looked at her surroundings. They were currently using Shunpo to travel through the desert. Since it's always night time in Hueco Mundo, she couldn't tell what the time was or how long she had been unconscious for. Her eyes were attracted to something odd upon the boulders and withered trees. What drew her attention to that particular place was a flash of violet.

"Did you guys see that?" Satsuki exclaimed as she tried to get a better look.

Everyone stopped and stared at Satsuki. "What did you see?" Rukia asked.

"I think I saw violet. Maybe it's Leila…" Satsuki's voice trailed off as she saw the strange glances aimed at her.

"Dude, the girl's dead. You killed her. I don't think I know anyone who's survived after being pierced in the heart," Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"You don't know the extent of her power. Her zanpakutou is similar to mine and the possibilities are endless if you have the power of Kurayami no Tenshi. Escaping death isn't a problem if you know how to use the power."

"But Leila only knows the name of the zanpakutou. She didn't even know you could fly with the wings," Rukia pointed out.

"You're being paranoid, Satsuki," Byakuya said simply.

"I am not being paranoid. I'm just being cautious," Satsuki huffed and crossed her hands. "By the way, you never told me how the battle between the hollows went."

"It was a piece of cake," Ichigo said with a grin.

"A lot of the hollows ran away at the sight of Ulquiorra," Rukia giggled.

"Here would do," Ulquiorra murmured and got to work opening a Garganta. "Are you going to the Human World or Soul Society?"

"Human World, we need to thank Urahara for his help," Satsuki replied and Ulquiorra nodded. "Byakuya, you can put me down now."

Byakuya nodded and let her down, placing a hand on Satsuki's shoulder as she stumbled.

"Stupid pins and needles," Satsuki laughed helplessly as she sat down. "Were there any hollows that caught your attention?"

"All the Arrancar's were defeated by Nii-sama and Ulquiorra when they first arrived here so there were only normal hollows. They were all easy prey," Rukia answered.

"Aren't you forgetting about the Vasto Lorde you had to fight against?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh yeah, he had an ice-type zanpakutou like me. Took me a while to defeat him but he wasn't really one to leave a big impression."

"Yeah right, then why did you keep talking about how it was so cool that he could make it snow?"

"I was talking about his sword, not him, Baka," Rukia turned around before anyone had the chance to see the blush on her face.

Satsuki chuckled and soon everyone was smiling as well. The built-up stress from the last few days was finally disappearing after defeating the enemy.

Ulquiorra stepped back when he finished opening the Garganta. "We should get going before any hollows start attacking us," he suggested.

Satsuki agreed and stood up but fell forward almost immediately. Byakuya reached out and caught her before she kissed the floor.

"Ha ha, looks like the pins and needles haven't faded," Satsuki laughed shakily.

Byakuya frowned, "I don't think this has got anything to do with pins and needles…"

"You worry too much," Satsuki said. Shaking Byakuya's hand off of her she walked toward the Garganta.

"Going back so soon?" Satsuki jumped as she heard Leila's giggling voice in her ear. She unsheathed her sword and swiped at the space behind her.

"Satsuki," Byakuya called in alarm as he caught the sword between his forefinger and middle finger.

Satsuki's eyes widened, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry Byakuya. I thought I heard Leila…"

Byakuya placed his palm on Satsuki's forehead who swatted it away immediately, "I'm perfectly fine, ok? It's just that Leila's death is just too suspicious."

"Stop thinking so much. She's dead, why can't you just accept the truth?" Ichigo grumbled.

Before Satsuki could object, Ichigo pushed her into the Garganta. Ulquiorra was already standing inside it, busy creating a path for them to walk on.

Byakuya grabbed Ichigo's shoulder, "Do you treat all girls like that?"

Ichigo blinked, "What?"

"I do not like to repeat myself. If you act so roughly toward Satsuki again, you'll have me to answer to," Byakuya said. "This goes toward Rukia as well."

"Nii-sama…"

"Oi, you three, you were the ones that wanted to get back home soon so why are you all standing there for?" Satsuki shouted from the Garganta.

Byakuya eyed Ichigo on his way to Satsuki. Ichigo gritted his teeth to keep from cussing at the older male and instead he flipped his middle finger at Byakuya's back.

"Don't be so childish, Ichigo…" Rukia shook her head helplessly as she followed her brother.

"So…what were you guys talking about?" Satsuki asked as they all ran through the Garganta.

"Oh, nothing…" Byakuya mumbled.

Satsuki frowned but decided to drop the subject. As she ran, Satsuki couldn't help herself from thinking about Leila. Satsuki had escaped death many times with the help of TenTen so the same thing might happen to Leila. Also, the voices she's been hearing were not illusions, Satsuki was sure of it. Why don't they believe me? Satsuki thought in frustration. Doesn't anyone think it's strange? It's like everyone is under a spell of some sort…

Satsuki stopped running and stared at the others still running in front of her. It couldn't be, could it? Satsuki bit her lip.

"Hey guys, stop for a moment," Satsuki shouted at them.

The four kept running as if they hadn't heard her and after calling after them for three times Satsuki started to panic. Sh!t, what do I do now? She took one step forward and suddenly she was surrounded by darkness.

TenTen, Satsuki called out desperately in her mind.

To her dismay, her mind remained silent and Satsuki couldn't feel the presence of her zanpakutou. Satsuki slumped to the ground as she stifled a sob.

TenTen, you liar, you said you'll never leave my side. Please, someone, anyone, don't leave me alone…

…

Ichigo was the first to run out of the Garganta. The Garganta had opened up just outside Urahara's shop. The sun was just setting in the Human World, painting the sky the same colour as Ichigo's hair.

Urahara walked toward them, "Welcome back. How'd everything go?"

Ichigo ran his hand through his orange spikes, "Satsuki and TenTen did all of the major work, we only took care of the underlings."

"Ah, really, and how did the fight between Satsuki and Leila go?" Yoruichi appeared behind Urahara with a giant, amused smile.

"Nee-chan won, obviously," Rukia replied.

"Oh, did she cut her head off?" Urahara asked straight-forwardly.

Rukia widened her eyes, "No…Leila died from a sword to the heart."

The two exiled shinigami frowned. "She… didn't cut Leila's head off?" Yoruichi asked.

"Why are you talking as if she isn't here?" Ichigo frowned.

"Uh, isn't it obvious? Satsuki isn't here…? Where is she anyway?" Urahara answered.

"Say what? She was right behind us…" Ichigo's voice trailed off when he couldn't find Satsuki anywhere.

"I'm right here, Baka," Satsuki tapped Ichigo on the shoulder.

"Eh? Ohm where were you hiding before? I didn't see you," Ichigo scratched his head.

"You weren't looking hard enough," Satsuki laughed.

"So, is anyone up for a celebration party?" Yoruichi asked.

Satsuki raised her hand in the air, "Me, me, me, I love parties!"

The others watched with raised eyebrows as Satsuki walked into the store.

"Maybe just the effects of the stress warding off," Yoruichi shrugged her shoulders and walked into the shop.

The others also started following them inside. They arrived at a room with a large low table in the middle with endless varieties of food. A large banner hung from the wall with the words 'Congratulations on winning!' on it.

Satsuki was already sitting on one of the floor cushions, "What are you waiting for? We've been in Hueco Mundo for the last two days so you guys must be hungry."

"How do you know we've been there for that long? Hueco Mundo looks the same all the time so it's impossible to tell the time unless you're a native," Byakuya asked while sitting opposite her on the other side of the table.

"Eh? Oh, I saw the calendar on the way over here," Satsuki laughed.

Byakuya was positive he hadn't seen a calendar on the way to this room but he kept quiet.

Rukia furrowed her eyebrows as she sat down beside her brother. Why isn't Nii-sama sitting next to Nee-chan?

"Oi, that frown is my trademark, get it off your face," Ichigo said as he sat down next to Rukia.

"Wah, all these food look so yummy, ne Rukia-chan," Satsuki said as she reached out for an apple.

"Yea, Tessai-san is a pretty good cook…" Rukia said absentmindedly. Nee-chan is eating an apple? Rukia thought feeling shocked.

Satsuki frowned at Rukia's expression, "Is something wrong, Rukia-chan? Did you want this apple?" She held out the fruit.

Rukia declined the offer, "You can have it. I thought you didn't like apples, Nee-chan."

Satsuki laughed, "Apples are healthy. How can I dislike apples, especially green ones? I just love green apples."

Especially _not_ green apples, Rukia thought. What has gotten into Nee-chan? She glanced at Byakuya and saw that he was frowning too.

As Satsuki dug into her supposedly-favourite fruit, the others at the table looked at each other with confused expressions.

Urahara motioned to Byakuya to talk to Satsuki, he thought for a moment before opening his mouth, "Satsuki, it's going to be a clear night tonight."

Satsuki looked up from her apple, "So…?"

"Since there are no buildings around this shop, there's a full view of the moon…"

"Not interested," Satsuki interrupted. "Maybe some other time," Satsuki said and leaned toward Byakuya, "But if you're asking me on a date…"

Byakuya blinked, Satsuki sat back and giggled at Byakuya's blank expression.

…

_Geez, you can't survive without me, can you, Satsuki-chan, you're just like a baby without me next to you…_ After what seemed like an eternity, TenTen's voice appeared in Satsuki's head.

You seem, tired…? Satsuki frowned.

_Yea, that stupid Leila did something. Forced you, me and the other four to separate and sent an order to Byakuya-sama and other people's subconsciousness to not realise anything._ TenTen sighed. _Leila planned this all along._

I told you so! Leila's not dead, but did you listen? No!

_Hey, I didn't say anything when you guys were having that argument._

You didn't support me either, so that made you a member of the opposing team.

_Opposing team…You make it sound like we were in a debate or something…That aside, shouldn't we be finding a way out of here? You never know what Leila is up to._

True, Satsuki stood up and dusted off imaginary dirt off her Shihakushou. Placing both hands on her hips, Satsuki looked around her but all she could see was an endless stretch of black. She couldn't even see her hands when she raised them in front of her face. She started walking, trying to spot any signs of other life forms or any clue to where she was.

…

Stupid Zanpakutou, Leila grumbled in her head. There is seriously no end to the annoying surprises she has up her sleeves. Luckily I have a back-up plan…

"Nee-chan, you know, this is a celebration party for your victory against Leila, so you shouldn't space out," Rukia pointed out.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff I have left unfinished in Hueco Mundo," she replied.

"You still think Leila's alive? Geez, you need to go see a psychologist. You're way too paranoid for you own good," Ichigo muttered while rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, Strawberry. Just because you don't think, doesn't mean everyone else is brainless as well."

Ichigo sent a glare toward her, slightly taking note that Byakuya hasn't moved an inch. So that threat he made before entering the Garganta was a cheap one, huh? Kind of surprising, considering he's all about pride and keeping promises that he'd let his own sister get executed…

As if reading his thoughts, Byakuya sent daggers toward the orange-head teenager. "I did mean what I said, if you so much as hurt Satsuki or Rukia in anyway it'll be the end of you, got it?"

Cheap threat, again! Ichigo screamed in his head as he continued eating. That's when he realised the frown on Rukia's face, "OI, midget, you're stealing my trademark again."

Rukia eyed Ichigo before saying, "That's not Nee-chan."

"What?"

The paper-sliding doors were suddenly flung open and a girl half-covered in blood stepped inside, "You f*cking imposter!" TenTen huffed and pointed at Satsuki, or should we say, Leila…


	21. The fights continue

A/N: Sorry for not updating in such a long time! I've really thrown the 'one chap a week' rule out the window XP Even though I'm single, I was so excited about Valentine's Day that I wrote valentine specials~ Recently I kept wondering how and why I got the idea of writing romance-ish fanfic and I finally got an answer - I was reading way too many shoujo manga... ==" Have you guys read Kaichou wa Maid-sama? It's so totally awesome and the art is just *squeals*

*Clears throat*

Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for it, even though it's a bit short...

* * *

Chapter 21 – The fights continue

"Wh…what are you talking about, TenTen?" Leila said, still trying to continue her façade.

TenTen shook her head, "Stop pretending, Leila. Everyone knows you're not Satsuki-sama."

"Byakuya, can you please tell that delusional girl I'm the really Satsu…" Leila had turned to Byakuya but found his sword positioned against her throat, "…ki?"

"Move and you die," Byakuya warned coldly.

Leila pouted and then shrugged. "All well," She said while starting to glow, when the glowing faded, Satsuki's appearance had faded and was replaced by Leila's real appearance. "Are you happy now? I suppose this is the time we start killing each other…"

"I guess so, but before we start, I want to ask you one question. How did you escape being killed by Satsuki-sama?"

"Easy, the person Satsuki killed wasn't me. It was a clone that I swapped with during the fight."

"What? When did you…"

"You said one question and I answered that already," Leila pointed out. Then her expression turned into one of impatience and her voice darkened, "Now shut up and let me kill you."

"Uh… Can the fight not take place inside this shop? I've only lived here for the past century or so..." Urahara interrupted.

"Fine by me, there's more space outside anyway," Leila shrugged and walked outside.

TenTen started to follow but Byakuya grabbed her arm, "How are you supposed to fight in this condition?"

"…'this condition'? I agree that I can't fight her by myself but what do you mean by that? I'm feeling perfectly fine."

"But your covered in blood," Rukia said.

TenTen looked down at her blood-stained kimono, "Oh, _this._ This isn't my blood."

"Then whose blood is it?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"It's Satsuki-sama's blood," TenTen replied.

"What?" Rukia and Ichigo exclaimed at the same time while Byakuya's eyes widened.

"What happened to Nee-chan? Is she alright?" Rukia bit her lip.

"Well…" TenTen started.

Flashback Start

"It appears we are in some kind of… cage," TenTen murmured.

"What did you mean by that?" Satsuki stared at her zanpakutou.

"It means we walked around for the last two hours for nothing," she replied.

"You've got to be kidding me," Satsuki said but after seeing the look on the other girl's face, "OK, fine. So is there any way we can get out of here?"

TenTen thought for a moment before speaking, "Have you forgotten?"

Satsuki frowned at hearing those words. She hardly ever forgets anything, TenTen should be very clear of that fact.

"'Hardly ever' doesn't mean 'never', Satsuki-sama," TenTen said when she heard her thoughts.

"Enlighten me, TenTen. I really don't understand what you want me to remember."

"Two words – fair exchange."

Satsuki's eyes widened and TenTen smiled happily, "I see you've remembered."

"No," Satsuki shook her head. "I'm not going to use Tenshi no Koukan (Angel's exchange according to Google Translate)."

"Why? Nothing really bad happened the last time you used that technique."

"'Nothing bad,' you say? You call being unconscious for a week nothing bad?"

"It was a very peaceful week," TenTen smiled at the memory.

"There has got to be another way out of here," Satsuki huffed.

"Sorry, Satsuki-sama, but this really is the only method."

Satsuki bit her lip and after a moment of deep thought she said, "What sort of cage are we in?"

"I would say a hollow version of Bakudou."

"Well, that's easy. All I need to do is perform a stronger restraining Kidou."

TenTen shook her head, "Leila used her own blood when creating this 'cage'."

The other girl paled, "How much blood?"

"The symbols that make up this restraint are all written in her blood, so I guess around… a litre."

'She's crazy," Satsuki muttered.

Her zanpakutou laughed but the turned serious, "So are we doing this technique or not?"

Satsuki sighed, "Do I even have a choice?"

"Nope," TenTen replied while grinning. She transformed into a sword and Satsuki picked it up.

_Remember, half of your blood,_ TenTen's voice echoed in her head.

"I get it, I get it. Who calls this 'fair exchange'? I have to give double the amount…" Satsuki grumbled. Gritting her teeth, she brought the sword down to her left arm, making a deep cut down her whole arm. Her blood immediately flowed out of the cut and she made sure that every drop landed on her sword.

Just as her vision started to blur, the surroundings changed. They were no longer in darkness, instead they were in a large, empty room. There room had no windows and no furniture, only one door.

Satsuki sat against the wall and glared at her bleeding arm. TenTen appeared kneeling beside her and also stared at the arm. She quickly reached up and pulled the ribbon out of her hair. She started to wrap the ribbon around the arm, temporarily stopping the blood from flowing out.

"If you keep sitting there, you'll find it hard to stand up again," TenTen stood back up and helped Satsuki to her feet. She made a face at the blood dripping down her black kimono, "Having two litres of blood being dumped on me isn't very good for my clothes. On a slightly more important note, do you think you can fight Leila with only two litres of blood left in your body?"

Satsuki shrugged, "I'll find a way to manage."

"You do remember you can't heal your injury, right?"

"Of course I do. It's one of the after effects of the so called 'fair exchange'."

"I'm just checking. Should we get going?"

Satsuki nodded and headed to the door that was surprisingly…unlocked. After opening the door, Satsuki let out a groan, "I should've known this was going to happen."

TenTen looked past her master's shoulder and frowned. Surrounding the building were hundreds upon hundreds of hollows. "What do you suggest we do now?"

Satsuki rubbed her face. She was so tired after the fight with Leila in Las Noches, and losing half of her blood didn't help the situation at all. "Let's just get this over with," she muttered. "If I'm right, Leila is probably pretending to be me right now. We better get back to Urahara's before she starts causing chaos."

After taking a deep breath, Satsuki stepped outside. She studied the hollows around them and felt their reiatsu, "TenTen, I'm going to use Tenshi no Chiri."

"'Kay," the sword replied before scattering into dust. The dust flowed around Satsuki.

"Wipe out all of them in the least amount of time possible," Satsuki ordered.

The cloud of dust flew toward the hollows in a blink of an eye. Upon contact with the dust, the hollows started to fade away. Within seconds, every hollow in site were dead.

Satsuki smiled but then cursed as she felt herself losing her balance, "Stupid blood loss."

"C'mon, Satsuki-sama, we've got to go back to the Human World," TenTen returned to Satsuki's side to support her anaemic body and started to open a Garganta. After opening the Garganta, she turned to Satsuki, "Do you want to go first or me?"

"You go first. You have more energy than me."

TenTen nodded and stepped into the Garganta. Satsuki started to follow her but the sound of hollows shrieking made her stop. With a sigh she turned to her sword, "Go back to the Human World while I deal with these hollows. I'll catch up soon."

TenTen nodded and started running into the Garganta, she knew complaining wasn't an option when Satsuki had that determined expression on her face.

Flashback end

"…and that's how I came to be covered in blood. Satsuki-sama is most likely alright since there were only low-level hollows. If something bad had happened, I would've disappeared ages ago," TenTen finished explaining.

"Half of her blood," Rukia repeated. "Even shinigami will have trouble staying conscious after losing that much blood."

"There is nothing to worry about," Byakuya said. "She said she will come so she will. Nobles don't break promises."

"Well said, Byakuya-sama," TenTen nodded her head. "You guys got any more questions? Good. Leila's waited for us long enough."

"Took you guys long enough," Leila rolled her eyes when she saw them coming out of the shop.

"The point isn't to defeat her but to buy some time until Satsuki-sama comes," TenTen reminded them in a soft voice before pulling out her katana.

The others nodded their heads and all got ready to face the enemy.

…

"…there's more?" Satsuki stared at the oncoming horde of hollows in disbelief. After using Tenshi no Chiri for the sixth time, Satsuki was sure she'd killed at least half of the hollow population in Hueco Mundo but the hollows just kept coming. Satsuki cursed when she felt immense pain from her left arm. Looking down, she saw that her arm had started bleeding again.

Satsuki couldn't afford losing anymore blood. Losing more blood would lead to her lose consciousness and that would cause TenTen to disappear from the physical world. If that happened, then there would be no one to help Byakuya and the others fight Leila.

_Don't be so negative, Satsuki-sama_, Satsuki blinked in surprise when she heard TenTen's voice. She'd totally forgotten she and TenTen could communicate through telepathy.

Focus on the fight in front of you, TenTen.

_I can say the same thing to you, my dear master._

How's the situation? Satsuki asked while sending another wave of attacks toward the oncoming hollows. The hollows stood no chance against her power but Satsuki's strength was slowly decreasing all the while.

_Just concentrate on your side of the fight, Satsuki-sama. We can manage for a while longer_.

Satsuki frowned at TenTen's unwillingness to tell her what was happening in the Human World. They never kept anything from each other. It was also quite a hard thing to do, considering the two were shinigami and zanpakutou. Before Satsuki had a chance to ask for more information, the hollows started to attack her.

Don't talk to me. If you do, you and I will both die, literally, Satsuki warned TenTen through telepathy.

A frog-like hollow leaped at Satsuki but with a swipe of Satsuki's sword, the hollow was cut in half. Just as the dust was dispersing, the hollows surrounded her. Satsuki glared at the enemies around her. "Die," she commanded simply. The sword in her hand dispersed and a second later all the hollows around her were reduced to dust.

Satsuki glanced down at her lifeless left arm and immediately wished she didn't. She hadn't lost this much blood since…well, ever and it freaked her out.

_I'm fading, Satsuki-sama!_

Well I can't exactly order my consciousness to stay with me, can I? Satsuki forced her eyes open with a groan but found it hard to make her eyes focus. I can't keep using my power like this. I'm just wasting my strength if I continue like this; there are way too many damned hollows here.

_Then open the Garganta and get your backside over here. I don't get why you stayed in Hueco Mundo for so long. I thought you were just gonna kill those hollows and come back here._

I…can't open a Garganta.

_What? Yes you can! I've seen you open one millions of times!_

I can open one but just not now. I can't think of the method, but Leila did something that has made me unable to open one… Crap, more hollows are coming… Satsuki tuned out before TenTen replied. She took a step forward and cursed when she felt herself falling forward. While she was talking to her zanpakutou, more blood had left her body.

She found that she couldn't move a muscle and to make matters worse, darkness was closing around her. Before she fell into complete darkness, she saw a mixture of blue and white run toward her...


	22. More fighting

A/N: I am sooo very deeply horribly sorry everyone! . i've been so busy these couple of weeks so i didnt have any time to work on this! TT-TT  
Hopefully this will make up for the long wait. Enjoy~

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Chapter 22 – More fighting

"Winning is just too easy with this power. If it weren't for Kurayami no Tenshi, you all would be dead by now," Leila grinned at the struggling people on the ground. "Now that that zanpakutou has gone back to Satsuki's inner world, I can finally kill you."

Leila raised her hand but stopped when the space in front of her glowed. The Arrancar glared at the glowing space, "I thought I told you to use this visual communicator only when there is an emergency."

"But it is an emergency, Leila-sama. The captive has escaped!" Leila's subordinate, a scrawny male with half of his face covered by a hollow mask remnant, replied.

"I know Satsuki has escaped, moron," Leila snapped. "Her zanpakutou was here. Why is there only you? What happened to the others?"

"Oh, it was horrible, Leila-sama. The shinigami…she was horrible. When she came outside, she killed all the hollows that were on guard at the speed of light!"

"Why didn't you fight her then?"

"What? I'm not crazy enough to do that! She killed all those hollows with just one attack. Also, when the other hollows from around the area came rushing, she killed them too! Every hollow in a 20 kilometre radius were annihilated," the subordinate shuddered at the memory.

Leila widened her eyes then narrowed them, "Go find her and when you do, fight her. I'll go back to Hueco Mundo straight away."

"But-"

Leila glared at the subordinate and he closed his mouth. With a hasty 'Yes Leila-sama,' the glow disappeared.

With a sigh, Leila said, "You heard my cowardly subordinate, looks like I have to go back to Hueco Mundo. Consider yourselves lucky. Bye." Without another backward glance, Leila opened up a Garganta and headed to Hueco Mundo.

…

Satsuki could feel she was resurfacing from unconsciousness but couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. She was so, so tired. She wanted to ignore everything around her and finally take a good rest. The female shinigami was about to do just that when she felt something warm on her arm. Frowning, Satsuki opened her eyes a slit to see a vast night sky with a lone moon.

"Ah! Bawabawa! She's awake!" someone said from her left. A second after she heard the voice, a female toddler with short, aqua-coloured hair with a purple line running across her face filled Satsuki's vision.

"…Nel?" Satsuki said hesitantly in case she got the name wrong.

The girl's face brightened, "Hi, 3rd division captain, you still remember me!"

"Of course I do, it's only been a few months since we last saw each other…" Satsuki stopped talking when she realised she was leaning on her left arm but felt no pain. She quickly looked down and was surprised to find her arm perfectly fine, the only thing that seemed out of place a puddle of transparent liquid sliding off her arm. Satsuki immediately figured out what the substance was and didn't know whether to feel grateful or disgusted. She decided on the former. "Uh…Thank you for healing me with… your saliva…" Satsuki internally shuddered at the word.

"No problem!" Nel beamed at her.

Satsuki gave her a small smile and looked around. They were currently on a giant, eel-like hollow. If her memory served her right, the hollow's name was Bawabawa.

_Ohayo, Satsuki-sama_, Satsuki heard TenTen's voice in her mind.

Sorry…I fainted, Satsuki replied, mentally poking her tongue out cheekily.

…_I noticed…_

Also, it's not morning. I think.

…_I also noticed that…_

So you gonna tell me now?

TenTen paused at the sudden change in topic, _tell you what?_

How was the fight between you guys and Leila?

_Uh…_TenTen said and then fell silent.

Just tell me already! Satsuki yelled in frustration at her zanpakutou.

"Are you ok, Satsuki?" Nel asked her with a worried expression and Satsuki realised she had talked out loud.

"Oh… it's nothing, I was just thinking about some stuff," Satsuki gave her a weak smile. God, TenTen, you made me do something stupid, Satsuki told her sword, this time making sure her mouth was securely shut.

…_Sorry Satsuki-sama. _TenTen sighed and a moment later various images flooded Satsuki's mind.

Upon seeing the images, Satsuki covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping. The image was what TenTen last saw before she was forced to go back to Satsuki's inner world. There were multiple craters on the ground and Leila was standing amidst the debris with a triumphant smile. In her hand was… Byakuya's arm!

Satsuki bit back scream and forced herself to focus on other aspects of the memory. Byakuya was standing a few metres away from Leila, seemingly unaware of the blood gushing from where his arm was ripped off his shoulder. Rukia stood beside him, trying to get him to stay still so she could stop the blood from flowing out. Ichigo was running up to Leila from behind, probably trying to give Leila a surprise attack. Ulquiorra was preparing to fire a Cero. Yoruichi was in midair, aiming a flying kick to Leila's head while Urahara was chanting a Bakudou in an attempt to stop her from moving. Every person except Leila was hurt some way or another, Satsuki realised in dismay.

_They will be alright. I'm sure Leila left not long after I left, _TenTen reassured Satsuki.

Satsuki bit her lip. She was about to reply but was interrupted when Bawabawa suddenly stopped. Satsuki lost her balance and nearly fell off the hollow if not for Nel grabbing her arm.

"Stop right there!" Someone commanded.

…

"Kurosaki-kun, Rukia-chan," Orihime squealed as she ran toward them with Uryuu and Chad following close behind.

"Glad you guys could come," Urahara said to the newcomers.

"What happened here?" Uryuu asked.

"Leila happened," Ichigo grumbled from his seat beside Urahara.

After Leila left to go to Hueco Mundo, the shinigami went indoors to have their injuries tended by Tessai and called for Orihime to help heal them.

"I'm fine, Orihime," Rukia said when Orihime kneeled down beside her. "Please heal my brother, his arm was cut off."

"I've already healed him, Rukia-chan. Now please be quiet. You are very badly hurt as well."

Everyone was silent as Tessai and Orihime buzzed around healing the casualties.

"How did you guys still manage to lose even when it was six against one?" Uryuu couldn't help but ask once they were all seated at the low table.

"Actually, it was seven people against one, Ishida-kun," Urahara said.

"Never get on Satsuki's bad side," Ichigo warned Uryuu.

"What?"

"Leila's zanpakutou power is the same as Satsuki's. From what we've been through today, it's a fact that she can use her power to make you go through things worse than death if she wanted to," the orange-head replied.

"Is Leila that strong?" Orihime said with a pale face.

"Strong or not, we still need to defeat Leila. Otherwise, she will cause more trouble in the future," Rukia said.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud noise. Everyone turned their heads to see that Byakuya had slammed his cup on the table. "I trust you have prepared a Garganta already," he murmured to Urahara.

He stared at the shinigami captain for a moment before nodding. "Come with me," Urahara said and headed to the entrance of the underground training area.

"Wait, I'm coming too," Ichigo said, jumping up from his seat.

"No you're not," Isshin said, appearing in the doorway along with Ryuuken.

"Why can't I go, Oyaji?" Ichigo demanded. "And when did you get here?"

"I'm sorry, but Satsuki-chan said humans aren't allowed to take part in this. Anyways, I'm sure you already know only Satsuki-chan is capable of defeating Leila so why do you find the need to go?"

"Byakuya is going," Ichigo complained and pouted.

"That is because he is her husband."

"What kind of reason is that?"

"We are getting sidetracked here. Satsuki-chan knows she will use some pretty strong techniques and doesn't want to hurt you people. She also doesn't want you there because she knows you will do something reckless when you see Leila. Just accept the fact that you are weak so you can't go, Ichigo. You don't see your friends complaining, do you?"

Ichigo turned to see that his father was right and sighed. "I can fend for myself."

"Oh, so who was the person who was laying half-dead a moment ago?"

The father and son glared at each other before Isshin sighed.

"I suppose you'll just find another way to go to Hueco Mundo even when I forbid you from going there."

Ichigo grinned in triumph.

"You can go to Hueco Mundo, but I'm going too," Isshin announced.

Ichigo shrugged and they headed to the underground area.

"Don't think I'll let you go," Ryuuken said to his son.

"I wasn't going to anyway," Uryuu replied.

"I suppose I'll stay here and be prepared to heal people," Orihime announced. "I couldn't possibly be of help to you people in Hueco Mundo."

"See you when we get back," Rukia said and smiled at her before climbing down to the underground area.

…

Satsuki's eyes focused on a skinny male Arrancar standing in front of Bawabawa. Frowning, Satsuki jumped down and stood in front of him.

"Who are you?" Satsuki demanded, her hand already reaching for her zanpakutou.

The Arrancar seemed to cower under her gaze but he puffed out his chest and said, "The name's Robert, I'm the captain of the hollow squad in this area."

"Oh? I thought I killed all the hollows back there. Where were you?" Satsuki raised an eyebrow. So that irritating feeling of being watched was his fault.

_I say we kill him! A little warming-up exercise before we fight Leila. Again._

Satsuki ignored TenTen. "Why didn't you confront me before?"

"That is none of your concern," Robert said and crossed his arms.

"You hid, didn't you?"

"I-I did nothing of the sort!"

"I hate selfish people," Satsuki said while frowning. She unsheathed her sword and Robert took a step back, holding out his arms protectively.

"Wah! W-wait a moment! Please spare me!"

Satsuki ignored him and slashed at his shoulder. Robert froze when blood started flowing out of the gash on his shoulder but then grinned when he turned to face Satsuki. Just as Satsuki was wondering why he was happy that he was hurt, she felt a sting on her shoulder. Looking down, she saw blood flowing out of her shoulder at exactly the same place where Robert was injured.

"This power was designed to fight you! The moment you kill me, you die too," Robert smiled delightedly. "So, how are you going to defeat me now?"

"Like this!" Nel shouted as she sent a flying-kick to Roberts head. The two girls watched him fly through the air and collide with a rock. Nel inspected herself and smiled, "That power doesn't work on me!"

Satsuki looked at the other girl and was surprised to find that, in her adult-form, Nel was much taller than her. "I'll be right back, Satsuki, and then I can take you back to my house so you can meet my brothers!"

Satsuki nodded and Nel started walking to where Robert was laying. A Garganta appeared beside the place beside Robert and Leila stepped out. Her eyes locked with Satsuki's before looking down at her subordinate. "…Useless trash," she grumbled and kicked him aside.

"Thanks for coming back," Satsuki said. "Now I don't have to go looking for you."

Leila scoffed and summoned her spear. Satsuki pulled her zanpakutou out and TenTen appeared beside her master and holding a sword as well. Satsuki turned to Nel, "I'm sorr-"

"Yeah, I know," Nel smiled. "This is your fight, I won't interfere."

"Thank you," Satsuki flashed Nel a brief smile before turning to face Leila again. "This time I will definitely kill you."

* * *

End note: I promise i will try my best to get the next chapter out really soon!


	23. Final Goodbye

A/N: Wah~~~~~~~~~ Finally, after more than half a year (yes i counted Xd), this story is finally finished~ I never planned on writing so much...  
Again, I'm sorry for the long wait.. but i had a lot of assessment and stuff... i was going to post earlier, but went a bit crazy and wouldn't let me... Anyway, onto the last chapter of this story! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 23 – Final Goodbye

Satsuki glared at Leila and she glared back at her with the same ferocity. Without warning, the two charged at each other. Leila jabbed her spear but Satsuki blocked it with her zanpakutou. She then aimed a slash at Leila's throat. Realising she couldn't dodge the attack, Leila jumped back but a thin, red line still appeared on her neck. With an annoyed expression, Leila wiped the blood away and healed herself. "What's the rush for?" Leila grumbled.

"I'm not taking any chances," Satsuki replied. "In case you run away again. The only outcome I'm happy with for this fight is for you to die, full stop." After saying that, Satsuki sent a wave of her feathers toward the Arrancar.

With deadly accuracy, Leila blocked each and every feather that flew toward her, making a series of sharp ringing sounds as metal came into contact with metal. Before she had a chance to rest, Satsuki appeared in front of her with her sword raised. She brought the sword down but Leila blocked it with her spear.

Not even needing a breather, the shinigami captain continued to attack Leila with endless amounts of slashing and jabbing. Leila clenched her teeth and concentrated on not letting any of the blows land on her. Satsuki's gotten stronger! Leila thought but pushed it to the back of her mind.

The Arrancar hissed when Satsuki's sword pierced her thigh. She fell to one knee but Satsuki's attacks didn't stop. Just as Leila thought she was really going to die, Satsuki froze behind Leila. Curious, Leila turned and saw a Garganta was opening.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Leila sprang up and stabbed Satsuki's thigh. "An eye for an eye," Leila said.

Satsuki jumped away from Leila, landing slightly wobbly at the entrance of the Garganta. TenTen ran to her side and helped her stay upright. She rested her palm on Satsuki's thigh and when she removed her hand, the wound was gone. Satsuki gave TenTen a smile, "Thanks."

Satsuki's eyes widened when she felt a familiar reiatsu wash over her. Speechless, she turned to the Garganta to see Byakuya stepping out and look around. Their eyes met and Satsuki found herself running toward him. She grabbed both of his hands, checked them and sighed happily when she found that he was healed.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow and Satsuki quickly said, "TenTen told me your arm got chopped off. Are the others alright?"

He pointed behind him. Satsuki looked over his shoulder and saw Rukia had come out of the Garganta followed by Ichigo and finally Isshin.

"I thought I told you not to let Ichigo come," Satsuki said to Isshin.

He shrugged and said, "Too late now."

"Where's Ulquiorra?" Satsuki looked around but couldn't see him anywhere.

"He wanted to stay with Inoue Orihime," Byakuya answered.

"Ichigo," Nel screamed and ran toward him.

"I…can't breathe…" Ichigo managed to choke out as Nel gave him a bear hug.

"You guys done talking yet? I thought we had a fight to finish," Leila said with her arms crossed.

"You're right," Satsuki mumbled and gripped her sword. "Shall we continue?"

"Seven people against one?"

Satsuki glanced at the others. "No, they're not fighting."

"What?" Ichigo exclaimed.

Satsuki looked at him coldly. "This is my fight. Don't interfere."

"Don't order me around!" Ichigo huffed and took a step forward. Less than a second later, he felt something on his stomach and found himself falling backwards from the impact. A foot landed on his chest, making all the air leave his lungs, and he looked up to see Satsuki's irritated face near his.

"I. Told. You. Not. To. Interfere. I've had enough of your hero complex," The shinigami noble hissed. She then straightened up and glanced at Isshin. "Control your son or else I'm going to make him leave."

"I haven't seen Nee-chan be this angry since… I don't know when," Rukia commented while sitting down beside him.

Ichigo ignored her and focused on checking if he had any ribs broken.

"Now, where were we?" Satsuki mumbled. "Oh, yea, continuing our fight." She jumped, beat her wings once and was airborne.

Leila flew toward her. There was a spark when sword clashed with spear, with a curse, Leila jumped backward. TenTen appeared behind her, ready to strike her down. Leila cursed and turned in midair to block TenTen's attack. Satsuki appeared beside her zanpakutou spirit and they showered Leila with infinite amount of slashes.

Sh!t, I can't keep this up, Leila thought with clenched teeth as she tried her best to block the attacks. I need a distraction. Leila scanned her surroundings and grinned wickedly. Perfect…

Leila did a back flip to get away from the other two. She threw her spear with all her strength and as it flew through the air, the spear turned into two spears, then four and soon, there were more than five hundred spears heading toward the group of people on the ground.

Quick as a flash, TenTen materialised in front of the group and deflected every single spear. She looked around and poked out her tongue. "Sorry guys but Satsuki-sama is serious about you guys not getting involved in this fight." She then stood protectively in front of the group in case Leila aimed more attacks in their direction.

Satsuki eyed Leila coldly. "I can't believe you've fallen to this level. Dragging them into this fight…"

The other girl shrugged, "I needed a distraction."

Satsuki's eye twitched. Seriously, her temper has been getting way out of control lately. Satsuki wondered if she had scared at Ichigo when she hissed at him a few moments before. Oh, and there was that time when-

Cursing, Satsuki hastily blocked Leila's roundhouse kick.

"Pay attention or I might just look for more exciting prey," Leila warned and she glanced at the group.

Satsuki's eye twitched again. "I won't allow it."

"Then face me seriously," Leila retorted and punched Satsuki in the face.

Satsuki grabbed Leila's fist tightly before it hit her face. "You asked for it," Satsuki said in an unnervingly calm voice.

"TenTen," Satsuki's calm voice was soft, but TenTen heard her.

"See you guys later. I hope," TenTen smiled at the others and disappeared.

"Where did she go?" Ichigo asked.

"She went back to Satsuki's inner world," Byakuya explained.

"Why? Does it really make a difference if she's here or in Satsuki's inner world?" Ichigo enquired again.

Byakuya sighed. "TenTen uses up Satsuki's powers when she is in physical form, to have called TenTen back to her inner world, Satsuki is either very angry at the moment or is giving this fight her full concentration. Or it could be both."

"Eh? Satsuki wasn't going all out before?" Ichigo exclaimed and even Rukia widened her eye at the news.

Something whizzed past Rukia's head at an alarming speed and landed a few meters away, causing a gigantic crater in the ground. Straight after that, something else flew past Rukia in an even faster speed that sent her stumbling. When her eyes focused on the scene behind her, she saw Leila sitting in the middle of the crater. She was trying to sit up but couldn't because Satsuki was using her foot to pin her to the ground. The sight was an exact replica of a few minutes ago, when Satsuki got angry at Ichigo. She should've taken a photo of that scene…

"What's with the smile?" Ichigo asked.

"Ah? Oh, nothing," Rukia quickly wiped the smile off her face.

Satsuki grinded the heel of her foot and smiled at the sound of breaking ribs. Leila bit back a scream and blindly reached for Satsuki's foot. She pushed the limb away and shot into the sky, trying to get as far away from the shinigami as possible. Satsuki cursed and flew after her.

Leila turned her head but couldn't find Satsuki.

"Looking for me?" Satsuki's voice came from behind her.

Leila gasped when she felt hands grip her neck, chocking her. She clawed at Satsuki's hands but they just tightened their hold on her throat. Leila threw punches and kicks frantically but Satsuki easily dodges all the strikes. "I could kill you right here but I suppose you don't deserve an easy death like this," Satsuki mused. She smiled angelically but her eyes told a different story.

The Arrancar coughed when Satsuki let go of her. "You just lost your only chance to kill me," Leila said, glaring.

"We'll see," Satsuki replied and disappeared.

Leila cursed. Forcing herself to calm down, she looked at her surroundings and wondered if she should attack the group again. She took a step forward but was greeted with a black blade.

"Don't you dare," Satsuki said calmly. A cold shiver ran down Leila's spine. She didn't think Satsuki was capable of inducing such an emotion – fear. The icy feel of the blade against her throat brought Leila back to reality.

"You know, I don't feel any difference in your spiritual powers when your zanpakutou spirit is in this world or in your inner world," she said.

Satsuki smiled and her spiritual pressure increased immensely. Leila cursed when she felt the pressure threatened to compress her into an unrecognisable pulp. "That better now?" she asked. Leila glared at her while trying to ignore the pressure.

Looks like Urahara's pills still haven't wore off yet, Satsuki realised when she saw Rukia and Ichigo was immune to the immense reiatsu.

Leila lunged at the other girl in an attempt to catch her off guard. Satsuki gripped her sword and swiped at Leila. Leila summoned her spear and stopped the attack. Leila aimed a jab at Satsuki's stomach but found that Satsuki wasn't there anymore. Not even a second later, the shinigami appeared behind her. Leila twisted her body and used the length of the spear to block the sword. The attack was successfully blocked but the sheer power of the attack sent Leila flying backwards. As Leila flew through the air, Satsuki used Shunpo to keep up with her. When she got close to the Arrancar, Satsuki struck Leila and she fell straight down, creating a sand blizzard and a giant crate at the place where she fell.

Satsuki landed softly, searching for Leila. A hand suddenly shot out and gripped Satsuki's throat. She clawed at the Leila's wrist, drawing blood, but the Arrancar showed no signs of letting go.

The edges of Satsuki's vision started to fade. Cursing, Satsuki swung her sword and sliced off the hand from elbow down. When she was freed, Satsuki flew into the air, coughing, and tried to find Leila.

The Arrancar flew out of the cloud of dust and headed straight for Satsuki. Using her left hand, Leila started to lash out at Satsuki. Satsuki sheathed her sword. The two of them fought with only punches and kicks.

The reiatsu around the two suddenly increased again. "Oops, sorry, got too excited there," Satsuki said and the pressure lessened a bit.

"Don't underestimate me," Leila spat and lunged at Satsuki. "I thought you said you were gonna be serious about this."

"I am," Satsuki replied. "I haven't been this serious when fighting someone before." Satsuki studied Leila for a second and gave her a small smile. "Plus," she added, "I decided to make you go through hell as payback for the trouble you caused."

Another chill ran down Leila's back but she dismissed it. "Let's see you try," she scowled and the two started throwing punches and kicking again.

"…Are they really going to just do that until someone passes out?" Rukia couldn't help but murmur.

Ichigo shrugged, "Who knows what Satsuki's thinking in that crazy head of h-" He suddenly felt eyes boring into his back and immediately shut up.

"Maybe she is getting overboard," Byakuya said.

"If she can't beat Leila, then just say so. Dammit," Ichigo crossed his arms. "What is with you nobles and your pride?" He grumbled.

Byakuya shook his head, "She's just a bit over wound up since she doesn't get many chances where there are no restrictions to her power."

Ichigo looked at him quizzically.

Byakuya ignored the orange-haired boy. "Satsuki," Byakuya called out softly.

Many metres up in the air, Satsuki tensed upon hearing her name. She searched the ground until she locked eyes with Byakuya.

"I want to go back home already." From where she was, she saw Ichigo turn to Byakuya, surprised, when he heard Byakuya's slightly childish tone.

"Oops, sorry," Satsuki smiled. She turned to her opponent and shrugged. "Sorry, Leila," Satsuki apologised, "But I've got to end this fight soon or else Byakuya might throw a tantrum."

Leila raised an eyebrow.

Satsuki shrugged again and disappeared.

Leila cursed at her carelessness. After turning in circles several times, she still hadn't spotted the shinigami. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. A fist appeared out of nowhere and punched Leila so hard she flew through the air. Leila cursed and steadied herself. "Stop hiding!" she yelled.

Satsuki appeared in front of Leila with her sword unsheathed. Leila just managed to summon her spear before Satsuki started to shower her with attacks. With a sense of dread, Leila realised just how much Satsuki had been holding back and she still had no idea if Satsuki was going all out or not. If only for a little while, I wish I had more power, Leila practically begged her zanpakutou.

The result was almost instantaneous. Leila felt energy flow in her body. Satsuki's attack more easy to dodge and could even return some attacks with her own. Satsuki noticed Leila's increase in power, smiled softly, and increased her reiatsu as well. The two kept increasing their reiatsu while they fought until Leila couldn't increase her reiatsu anymore, but the other girl was nowhere near her limit.

Leila gasped when a slash opened a large gash on her stomach. With one hand holding her stomach, she used the other to swipe her spear at Satsuki's face. She jumped back, trying to heal herself. To her dismay, she realised she couldn't heal herself. A sense of déjà vu washed over her.

Leila tutted, she didn't particularly approve of this method but she couldn't see another way out of this. If she couldn't get to Satsuki by harming her physically, then she would cause damage to her emotionally. Calming herself, Leila stood up straight and said, "You've been lying about one thing."

Satsuki stopped mid-swing. "What?"

The Arrancar crossed her arms, "There is a hollow in Soul Society. Or have you forgotten?"

Satsuki let her hands drop to her sides. She gave Leila a murderous look, as if daring her to say more.

Leila ignored the look. "Maybe if I tell you the name of the hollow, you'll remember. Does Ke-"

Satsuki grabbed Leila's throat with one hand and the other holding the blade dangerously close to Leila's neck.

Despite her current situation, Leila grinned, "Looks like I struck a nerve."

"How do you know?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Don't play tricks with me. Tell me how you know. No one's meant to know," Satsuki demanded.

"What if the truth isn't something to hear? What if I'm actually not the one who planned this whole thing?" Leila paused for effect, "What if the person who planned this wa-"

"I don't believe you," Satsuki cut her off.

Leila simply shrugged, "I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm just stating facts. That's all." The smile was wiped off when Leila felt something warm slide down her neck. Satsuki had made a cut on her throat just deep enough to draw blood but not deep enough to kill.

"I'm going to make you wish you had just remained quiet and let me kill you," Satsuki said in a calm voice. She pulled her sword away from Leila's neck and let her go. "Tenshi no Chiri," Satsuki whispered the command.

When Leila saw the girl's sword turn into dust, she started to get away from the shinigami. Her actions were all in vain as the dust soon caught up with her.

A moment later, Leila spun her spear in her hand, creating a strong wind that dispersed the dust. The 'die as soon as you touch the dust' effect didn't work on Leila as she was a rather strong Arrancar. However, the infinite dust-like blades had made hundreds of cuts on her body. Leila knew it was no use trying to heal the injuries so she focused on stopping the bleeding instead. Leila gathered up her energy, summoned a spear, and ran straight toward Satsuki.

Satsuki purposely lowered her reiatsu so that the fight would last longer but then remembered Byakuya's words. She sighed and reluctantly unleashed all her reiatsu. In the second Leila took to reach Satsuki, Satsuki's reiatsu had already risen to its maximum point and was ready to deal with any attack Leila had in store for her.

Give me a bit more time, Satsuki told Byakuya using telepathy.

Byakuya reached into his pocket to produce a gadget Urahara had given him that would open up a temporary Garganta. He started to turn on the gadget when Ichigo asked, "What are you opening a Garganta for? Are you just gonna leave Satsuki here?"

"She'll be done by the time this Garganta opens," Byakuya answered simply.

"What? Satsuki can't possible beat Leila in less than five minutes!"

"Just watch the fight and let me do my job in peace. Satsuki says she'll be done soon so just watch quietly, ok?" Byakuya sighed.

At that moment, something flew past Ichigo at an amazing speed. The orange-haired boy stumbled and fell. The group looked over to see a heavily injured Leila struggling to stand up. Her simple white dress was dyed red with her own blood and there was a stream of blood flowing steadily down the left side of her face.

"I've had enough of your lies!" Satsuki, who was standing beside Leila with her sword pointing at Leila's neck, yelled. "It's not possible for him to contact anyone so you couldn't have gotten orders from him!"

"We hollows have our ways that you shinigami will never understand," Leila replied, unaffected by Satsuki's temper.

_Don't listen to her, Satsuki-sama,_ TenTen warned her master.

Duh, I'm not stupid. Satsuki replied but bit her lip. What if Leila was telling the truth? She hasn't checked up on him for more than two years, there's a slight change that he could've found a way to-

"Satsuki!"

"Eh?" Satsuki blinked when she felt a weird sensation coming from her stomach. She looked down and saw an object protruding out of her stomach. Leila's impaled a spear in my stomach, Satsuki's mind screamed at her.

"You shouldn't space out when you're in a battle," Leila said.

Ignoring Leila, Satsuki reached down and pulled out the spear without even a second's hesitation. She tightened her hold on the spear and it shattered into a million pieces. Satsuki healed herself in the speed of light and stood up. Satsuki pursed her lips and mumbled, "I've had enough of you."

"What?"

Without replying, Satsuki charged toward Leila at the speed of light. Leila squeaked in surprise and flew into the air to get away from the shinigami. Satsuki used Shunpo to chase up to her. As soon as Leila saw her coming toward her, she started aiming punches at Satsuki.

"Futile," Satsuki commented and dodged every strike.

Leila gritted her teeth and sped up her actions but every time Satsuki dodged the attacks easily as if she could read the Arrancar's mind.

Satsuki's hand snapped out and grabbed Leila's fist. With her other hand, she swung her zanpakutou at Leila. Leila jumped back and swiftly summoned a spear to block the attack. Leila used her spear to swipe at Satsuki but saw that she was no longer there. Leila looked up to see Satsuki swinging her sword down onto her head. Realising she had no time to dodge the attack, Leila quickly brought her spear up to block the sword.

Satsuki knew this would happen so she kicked Leila in the chest the second her blade clashed with the spear. Upon impact, Leila flew through the air. Satsuki appeared beside her and kicked Leila to the ground.

She hit the ground hard and it took her a while to regain her motor skills. She sat up but was kicked down again by Satsuki. She rested her foot on Leila's stomach in case she decided to get up.

_Ne, it's been three minutes already, _TenTen reminded Satsuki.

'Kay, I'll be done in a sec., Satsuki replied her.

"Hey," Satsuki said to Leila, "If you prove that what you said was true, I'll go easy on you."

"Go easy on me?" Leila scoffed, "What, are you gonna lock me up like you did with-"

*Snap*

Leila stared wide-eyes at her leg that was bent in an awkward angle. "You did not just break my leg!" She shrieked.

"I offered you a chance to make this easier for you but you threw it away," Satsuki said calmly. "Do you have anything important to say?"

"Conceited b*tch," Leila spat.

Satsuki's brow twitched. "I thought I told you to say something worth remembering." That said Satsuki plunged her sword into Leila's chest, making sure to pierce the heart. She really didn't want a repeat of what happened before.

"You're gonna regret this," Leila warned and smiled weakly.

Satsuki dismissed the remark and stood up. She didn't care about the site of Leila deteriorating into dust. Right now, she just wanted to get home, have a long soak in a nice warm bath and sleep for the next, say, two weeks.

She was thinking of her high-quality silk-made futon when something shiny caught her eye. Satsuki bent down and let it dangle in the moonlight. It was a silver, oval-shaped locket with beautiful carvings on it on a thin, silver chain.

The locket looked familiar to Satsuki. She immediately froze when she recalled where she had seen the accessory before. She had seen it in Soul Society. To be exact, she had seen the exact same jewellery in the top draw of her dressing table.

_Satsuki-sama,_ TenTen called out, worried, when she noticed the locket in her master's hand.

Satsuki laughed softly once. "Leila had proof after all," Satsuki muttered.

"Satsuki," Byakuya called as he walked up to her. "The Garganta is already open." He widened his eyes when he saw the object in Satsuki's trembling hand. "Where did you get that?" He questioned.

Satsuki bit her lip and, with lost eyes, she said in a frightened voice, "It's all true..."

Sadness flashed across Byakuya's face but he quickly replaced it with a nonchalant expression, snatched the locket away from her and pocketed it.

"No! Give it back! I found it first," Satsuki demanded childishly. Byakuya ignored her and walked back to the Garganta. Satsuki tried to get the locket back but when she took a step forward, her legs gave out.

The events of the past few days finally caught up to her and fatigue washed over her. Rukia called out in alarm when she saw Satsuki collapse.

"Satsu-chan," Satsuki heard in her mind as a memory she had locked up before resurfaced.

In the memory, a boy with aqua-coloured hair smiled at her, showing his pearl-white teeth and those cute dimples that she absolutely loved.

"Kenta…" Satsuki murmured. A tear slid down her cheek as she slid into unconsciousness.

* * *

End Note: If you hadn't noticed already... Not every problem is solved =P I am most likely going to write a sequel... But it might take a while because my brain capacity isnt very big...

Acknowledgments~  
Before i go~  
Thank you, dear reader, for putting up with me for all this time. I'm so sorry for the bad grammar, bad spelling, the OOC-ness and yeah...  
Thank you for those who reviewed and added my story on alert of facourites~ I got so happy each time i was notified =D  
Also, thank you, MsMifuyu and Ichiban Bakayaro~  
If it wasn't for MsMifuyu, i would not have started to write fanfiction. She was the first one to know that i was posting fanfics on and my penname.  
When i started writing, she was the one who gave me awesome ideas whenever i got stuck~  
And Ichiban Bakayaro...whom i have known since primary school... he wasn't meant to know about me writing fanfics. But this happened and then that happened and he became my editor XD Even though he is a baka at times, he is a good friend who puts up with my nonsense and fail english. =)  
These two supported me ever since the start and always told me to hurry up and post so that i wouldn't get lazy XP There is no doubt that i will go running to them in the future when i am stuck with other stories so...be prepared mwhahaha  
*clears throat*  
Anyway~ Thank you all for sticking with me this long~ Please continue to support me~  
~I love you all!~


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